Project Title
The Revolution of the Beat: Dramaturgy of Head Over Heels
Major
Theatre & English
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Amy Pinney
1
Session Type (Select ALL that apply)
Oral Presentation: Creative, Special Session: Digital Humanities
Abstract
In 2023, the GC Department of Theatre and Dance presented their production of Head Over Heels, a musical composed of The Go-Go’s hits and hidden gems. In addition to the unique score, the show is based on the Elizabethan pastoral romance The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney—a story based on the aesthetics and structure of ancient Greek drama. Because the show also platforms historical (although often suppressed) LGBTQIA+ relationships, I conducted research on The Go-Go’s, the early American punk scene, The Arcadia, Sir Philip Sidney, the Elizabethan period, ancient Greece, and how LGBTQIA+ people experienced, influenced, and interacted with these subjects. To effectively communicate my research to the cast and crew of Head Over Heels, I created an extensive glossary of the dialogue, actor packets with information specific to each character, a punk-inspired playlist, and infographics about each of the historical layers of the show. Throughout my research, I was struck by just how similar these seemingly disconnected topics were; within each subject, there was a defiant pushback against the dominant authority in order to socially progress—an all too familiar plight of the 21st century.
The Revolution of the Beat: Dramaturgy of Head Over Heels
In 2023, the GC Department of Theatre and Dance presented their production of Head Over Heels, a musical composed of The Go-Go’s hits and hidden gems. In addition to the unique score, the show is based on the Elizabethan pastoral romance The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney—a story based on the aesthetics and structure of ancient Greek drama. Because the show also platforms historical (although often suppressed) LGBTQIA+ relationships, I conducted research on The Go-Go’s, the early American punk scene, The Arcadia, Sir Philip Sidney, the Elizabethan period, ancient Greece, and how LGBTQIA+ people experienced, influenced, and interacted with these subjects. To effectively communicate my research to the cast and crew of Head Over Heels, I created an extensive glossary of the dialogue, actor packets with information specific to each character, a punk-inspired playlist, and infographics about each of the historical layers of the show. Throughout my research, I was struck by just how similar these seemingly disconnected topics were; within each subject, there was a defiant pushback against the dominant authority in order to socially progress—an all too familiar plight of the 21st century.