In a study that spans the fields of theater history, performance studies, and cultural studies, Giulia Palladini analyzes artistic performances, social performances, archival remains, and memoirs of the underground theater scene in 1960s New York. She employs foreplay as a theoretical term that refers to a form of labor that both anticipates and postpones theater production proper. Informed by queer theory and materialist theories of production, Palladini's theory of foreplay subverts any teleological conception of work, devaluing mastery and progression in favor of desire and pleasure. Her engagement with artistic performances such as Tom Eyen's play Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down, Paul Foster's Hurrah for the Bridge, Andy Warhol's Screen Tests and Jack Smith's 1970s midnight performances, as well as social performances such as Jackie Curtis's wedding performances and Ellen Stewart's founding of La Mama, illuminates an era of radical experimentation and seismic change in ideas of what constitutes theater and performance.

About the Author
Giulia Palladini is a postdoctoral fellow at Universitat Erfurt.

Reviews
Palladini develops truly fresh""theorizations of the possible relations between labor, value, productivity, and capitalism, while presenting an extraordinarily rich and extensive set of materials on 1960s New York""'underground' performance.""This work has the potential for broad impact beyond theater and performance studies;""it is relevant to everyone engaged with cultural studies and critical theory, from queer and gender studies to critical human geography and other theoretically engaged humanistic social sciences.""It will thus be a great resource for scholars within these fields, as well as for historians of New York City."" - Miranda Joseph, author of""Debt to Society: Accounting for Life Under Capitalism""



Book Information
ISBN 9780810135222
Author Giulia Palladini
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Northwestern University Press
Publisher Northwestern University Press
Weight(grams) 340g