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“When In Other Habits” Gender-Flipping and Cross-Gender Casting in Shakespearean Performance Stoll, Emily; 0000-0002-8757-1724 Bono, Barbara English English literature gender studies theater M.A. It is widely known that women were not allowed to take the stage in Shakespeare’s era, resulting in all-male productions. Though this restriction is long gone, many theater companies still perform Shakespeare with all-male casts, labelling it “original practices.” The inverse – women playing men – is less common and is typically scoffed at, despite a strong history of women playing roles like Hamlet; in fact, all-female casts are often viewed as niche, radical, or angry feminists. This thesis examines the practices of cross-gender casting and changing characters’ genders, with an emphasis on women in male roles. It begins by discussing the differences in Elizabethan and present-day gender perception, then proceeds to examine cross-gender casting and gender-flipping practices in three separate plays: The Tempest, specifically the Julie Taymor version where Helen Mirren played a female version of Prospero; Hamlet, which has a long history of cross-gender casting; and Twelfth Night, where I posit a theoretical production that incorporates gender-flips for Orsino and Olivia. Through this analysis, I also conclude that future productions will provide yet more complexity as our understanding of the gender binary changes. 2019-04-04T20:31:09Z 2019-04-04T20:31:09Z 2019 2019-01-10 16:56:43 Text Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10477/79382 eng Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions. Copyright retained by author. application/pdf State University of New York at Buffalo