Performance studies at U of T are getting a whole lot kinkier. Sexual Performance: Case Studies in Sadmasochism returns this year, offered as a drama grad course and to undergrads in sexual diversity studies.
The course examines links between drama and S/M practices, which frequently rely on theatrical elements, to “test theoretical assumptions against the background of concrete experience,” according to the course description.
Professor Leslie Katz hopes to dispel notions of S/M as merely theatrical fantasy or eroticized violence. While it includes theatrical elements, S/M also deals with the control and submission of personal power, she said.
“If there is one thing that I would like my students to leave the class with, it is the conviction that theatre is not only about simulation and make-believe; the stakes of performance are real,” said Katz. No acting experience is required.
