This course examines theatrical performance as a mode of theorizing about gender, sex, sexuality and embodiment. Through lecture, discussion and performance workshops, this course charts the concept of “sex on stage” through distinct registers: gender as performance, cross-gender performance, performances of sexual identity, and the explicit body in performance. We will investigate the myriad ways that popular performance — or theatre, film, television and live expressive culture — operates as a privileged site for rehearsing shifting perceptions and presumptions about gender and sexuality in the United States. As we evince how such performances have contributed to broader discourses of identity, culture and nation, visits from theatre practitioners (along with attendance at performances and participation in writing and performance exercises) will anchor our discussions in the tactical and experiential aspects of performance practice. Our readings will draw from historical, literary and theoretical texts and we will engage a broad range of musical, cinematic and theatrical performances through written texts, recordings and live enactments.