The Scene of Foreplay

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.