UC Santa Barbara

This dissertation explores how the corpus of dramatic and performance material written about and in response to HIV/AIDS provides a singular way of knowing the pandemic. When collected, thirty years of American AIDS plays are an historiographic representation of the cultural evolution of the disease. And the theater, as a live medium, is the location where a living relationship with the pandemic is actively forged. My method utilizes the contemplative philosophy of Martin Buber to understand how the critical relationships involved the theater lead to a deeper and more potent response to HIV/AIDS. I first build a comprehensive history of mainstream American theater alongside epidemiological, medical and public policy timelines. Second, I investigate the perpetual performativity of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart and the reasons why it remains the go-to play to reinvigorate AIDS cultural awareness. I then look deeply at how the newest American AIDS plays both incorporate and reverse trends toward cultural invisibility. Finally, I explore the pedagogical implications of teaching this collection of drama today. The presence of HIV/AIDS in the American play is akin to an act of disclosure; once uttered or seen it never can be taken back or unseen, altering the way the audience perceives the virus. The theater becomes a place of activism. I explore the AIDS plays for their understanding of the global response, their representations of human compassion, and as part of an acquired history for those of us who live with HIV – a living connection to all lives touched by AIDS.