The Restoration Of Self:A Reading Of The Normal Heart From The Perspective Of Performance Studies

Larry Kramer is a man of a mix of social roles, all of which are closely related to his gay identity. A large part of his life is devoted to speaking for LGBT people, and writing is his most powerful weapon. Kramer's most memorable work, The Normal Heart, is a play of strong autobiographical features:several gay men and the stories revolving around them bear much resemblance to Kramer and some of his close gay friends and their real life experience. The crafted lines in the conversations among these gay men arranged by Kramer are a convenient source to locate their respective characterizations and the dramatic conflicts thereof. In light of Richard Schechner's broad spectrum approach of performance, especially his restoration of behavior model, this thesis treats Kramer's characterization of these gay men as their enactment of gender roles, and analyzes how Kramer, the playwright himself, restores his gender role and gender identity through recreating his past experience.