{{short description|American performance troupe}} '''Split Britches''' is an American performance troupe that has been producing work internationally since 1980. Academic Sue-Ellen Case says, "their work has defined the issues and terms of academic writing on lesbian theater, butch-femme role playing, feminist mimesis, and the spectacle of desire."<ref name="autogenerated1997">Split Britches: Lesbian Practice/Feminist Performance, edited by Sue-Ellen Case, Routledge, 1997.</ref><ref name="wordpress1">{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Geraldine |url=http://splitbritches.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/double-acts_geraldine-harris.pdf |title=Double Acts, Theatrical Couples, and Split Britches' 'Double Agency' |publisher=Split Britches |pages=211–221 |date=February 2011 |accessdate=2014-02-02}}</ref> In New York City, Split Britches has a long-standing relationship with La Mama Experimental Theatre Company, where they are a resident company; Wow Café, which Weaver and Shaw co-founded; and Dixon Place.<ref name="autogenerated1997" />
==Founding ==
Split Britches was founded by Peggy Shaw, Lois Weaver, and Deb Margolin in New York City in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://splitbritches.wordpress.com/ |title=Split Britches website |publisher=Splitbritches.wordpress.com |accessdate=2014-02-02}}</ref> Shaw and Weaver met in Europe while Weaver was touring with Spiderwoman Theater, and Shaw with Hot Peaches,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lesbian theatre|last=Freeman|first=Sandra|work=The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre|publisher=Continuum|year=2006|isbn=9780199754724|editor-last=Chambers|editor-first=Colin|location=London|pages=441|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199754724.001.0001}}</ref> performing Spiderwoman Theater's ''An Evening of Disgusting Songs and Pukey Images''. This production was the first time Spiderwoman presented lesbian content and introduced Peggy as a Spiderwoman performer.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Patraka|first=Vivian M.|date=2008|title=Split britches in split britches: Performing history, vaudeville, and the everyday|journal=Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory|volume=4|issue=2|pages=58–67|doi=10.1080/07407708908571129}}</ref>
Weaver and Shaw decided to leave Spiderwoman, and one of the Spiderwoman performers they had been working with declined to continue with them.<ref name=":4" /> This led them to ask Margolin, who was a writer, to assist with the script of ''Split Britches'', and Margolin became a part of the company for many years.
==''Split Britches, The True Story'' ==
"Split britches" is a reference to the type of pants women wore while working in the fields, which allowed them to urinate without stopping work. Additionally, in the context of the company, this name has been said to mimic the “split pants” of poverty and comedy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoOl6ZhRnTkC&dq=split+britches&pg=PA1|title=Upstaging Big Daddy: Directing Theater as If Gender and Race Matter|last1=Donkin|first1=Ellen|last2=Clement|first2=Susan|date=1993-01-01|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0472065035|language=en}}</ref>
In the summer of 1980, Weaver began writing a performance about her two aunts and great-aunt in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia called ''Split Britches, The True Story.'' The performance was originally developed with Spiderwoman performers and was performed at the first WOW (Women's One World) Festival, founded by Shaw and Weaver, in 1980, with a subsequent performance in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/deb-margolin/|title=Deb Margolin by Lynne Tillman - BOMB Magazine|website=bombmagazine.org|access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref>
The final version of ''Split Britches'' was performed at the Boston Women's Festival in the spring of 1981 and at the Second WOW festival in the fall of 1981.<ref name=":4" /> The script was first published in ''Women & Performance'', and premiered on public television in 1988, directed and produced by Mathew Geller in association with WGBH/WNET Television and the NYFA ‘Artists New Works Program'.<ref name="autogenerated1997" /><ref name=":4" />
==Operating finances ==
Early in their history, the company decided not to spend time applying for grants to support their performances and instead worked outside these systems using their own finances from jobs to support their performance. This is due to a belief stated by Shaw that "it's easier to get a job than a grant." This held true for the beginning of the company's existence, but as it became more established, it began to apply for grants.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Memories of the revolution : the first ten years of the WOW Cafe Theater|date=2015|publisher=[publisher not identified]|others=Dolan, Jill, 1957-, Tropicana, Carmelita,, Hughes, Holly, 1955 March 10-|isbn=9780472121496|location=[Place of publication not identified]|oclc=933515943}}</ref>
==Artistic themes==
Split Britches has worked with concepts of lesbian, queer, dyke, butch, and femme identities and cultures<ref name="autogenerated1997" /> in a context of American feminism and live arts movements that emerged in the 1970s. The troupe uses performances to create safe spaces in which non-normative sexualities and genders can occur in peace.<ref name=":0">Shoemaker, Deanna Beth. "Queers, monsters, drag queens, and whiteness: unruly femininities in women's staged performances." (2004).</ref>
Geraldine Harris has placed the work of the troupe in a "postmodern Brechtian tradition" and, in an article on this troupe, describes the focus in their work on borders, as they often take on ideas of duality.<ref name="wordpress1"/> Split Britches' work involves concepts of the duality of butch/femme, as well as concepts around class, classism, and oppression. Harris also explains that the troupe opposes the gender binary as a mode of political performance. Split Britches also examines the fetishization, objectification, and narcissistic misidentifications that cannot be separated from love, passion, and desire.<ref name="wordpress1" />
==Impact and significance==
In ''Split Britches: Lesbian Practice/Feminist Performance'', critic and theorist Sue-Ellen Case describes the importance of the trio in the development of contemporary lesbian performance, writing that "the troupe created a unique 'postmodern' style that served to embed feminist and lesbian issues of the times, economic debates, national agendas, personal relationships, and sex-radical role playing in spectacular and humorous deconstructions of canonical texts, vaudeville shtick, cabaret forms, lip-synching satire, lyrical love scenes, and dark, frightening explorations of class and gender violence."<ref>{{cite web|author=Wray, B.J. |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/split_britches.html |title=Split Britches |publisher=glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture |date=2002-12-11 |accessdate=2014-02-02}}</ref> Split Britches has been praised for having maintained a theater space for women's artistic endeavors.<ref name=":1" /> The shows are often praised for the deconstructive and transformative lenses through which they are written.
Split Britches' work comes from a tradition of performance art that is academically documented by the field of performance studies. Their work is cited as indicative of lesbian art, which brings up issues of subjectivity.<ref>Davis, Gill "Goodnight Ladies: on the Explicit Body in Performance", ''New Theatre Quarterly'', XV, No.58 (1999), p.187.</ref> It has been central to the development of feminist performance theory and distinguishing lesbian critical theory, for example, in the pioneering work of Jill Dolan on the feminist spectator,<ref name="Dolan Feminist Spectator">{{cite book | url=https://www.press.umich.edu/5169198/feminist_spectator_as_critic | title=The Feminist Spectator as Critic | publisher=University of Michigan Press | date=1988 <!--; p.46-49--> | last=Dolan | first=Jill | location=Ann Arbor | isbn=978-0472035199}}</ref> Sue-Ellen Case on butch/femme aesthetics,<ref name="Making a Spectacle Lynda Hart ed.">{{cite book |last=Case |first=Sue-Ellen |title='Toward A Butch-Femme Aesthetic' in Lynda Hart, ed., Making a Spectacle: Feminist Essays on Contemporary Women's Theater |date=1989 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor |isbn=978-0-472-09389-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/makingspectaclef00hart/page/282 282–99] |url=https://archive.org/details/makingspectaclef00hart/page/282 }}</ref> and Alisa Solomon<ref name="WOW Cafe Alisa Solomon">{{cite journal |last=Solomon |first=Alisa |title=The WOW Cafe |journal=TDR: The Drama Review |date=1985 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=92–101|doi=10.2307/1145606 |jstor=1145606 }}</ref> and Kate Davy<ref name="Lady Dicks and Lesbian Brothers Kate Davy">{{cite book |last=Davy |first=Kate |title=Lady Dicks and Lesbian Brothers: Staging the Unimaginable at the WOW Café Theatre |date=2011 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor |isbn=978-0-472-05122-9 |url=http://www.press.umich.edu/192645}}</ref> on feminist performance contexts.
== Methodology == In a dissertation by Deanna Beth Shoemaker, Split Britches was said to use games, fantasies, songs, dance numbers, and monologues to address issues including female desire, power, and lesbian identity. The characters in the performances play on gender and sexuality binaries, and explore issues of lesbian femme identity within and outside the butch/femme dynamic.<ref name=":0" />
The company began by exploring a personal obsession or frustration, such as Tennessee Williams or Aileen Wuornos, which is often taken from popular culture. Shaw has said this is because, through popular images, they are able to maintain a queer aesthetic while keeping an audience engaged.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/peggy-shaw/|title=Peggy Shaw by Craig Lucas - BOMB Magazine|website=bombmagazine.org|access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref> Weaver and Shaw always try to make reference to a comedy duo from the 1950s or 1960s, which is often Mike Nichols and Elaine May, due to their comedic structure and gender dynamics.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mythic women/real women : plays and performance pieces by women|date=2000|publisher=Faber and Faber|others=Goodman, Lizbeth, 1964-|isbn=978-0571191406|location=London|oclc=43341587|url=https://archive.org/details/mythicwomenrealw00lizb}}</ref> Next, the company makes lists, including a list of things they want to do on stage, current social issues, cultural icons, and stories they want to tell. They then choose characters that are split between good qualities and bad qualities, which Weaver has said is "like loving a part of yourself and your past." Despite playing characters, Weaver and Shaw say they always play themselves, including personal stories and anecdotes. Weaver has said. "In the process of making personal performance, lying is always an option, and creating truth is the goal."<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=The applied theatre reader|date=2009|publisher=Routledge|others=Prentki, Tim., Preston, Sheila, 1968-|isbn=9780415428873|location=New York|oclc=192042277}}</ref> Next, they begin collecting found objects and working on music to incorporate. Finally, the company begins rehearsals, weaving together the disparate fragments. Throughout their history, Weaver has functioned as the primary director.<ref name="autogenerated1997" />
In recent years, public engagement and dialogue have become an integral part of the Split Britches creative process. This takes the form of workshops and public conversations, often moderated through formats from Weaver's Public Address Systems project.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://seniorplanet.org/split-britches-want-you-to-unearth-your-potential/|title=Split Britches Wants You to Unearth Your Potential|date=2016-09-01|work=Senior Planet|access-date=2018-03-26|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Public engagement == From 2002 to 2003, Weaver and Shaw designed and ran workshops in four women's prisons in Brazil and the UK as part of the 'Staging Human Rights' project, initiated by People's Palace Projects. The workshops intended to use performance to discuss human rights with female prisoners.<ref name=":3" />
== Controversies == At the time Split Britches was formed, cross-dressing and drag were popular, so this has become a central part of some of their performances. Some of the performances by the troupe have come under fire for the portrayal of certain characters. Specifically, the coproduction of ''Belle Reprieve'' by Split Britches and Bloolips, a group of gay drag performers.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZyKAgAAQBAJ&dq=split+britches&pg=PR1|title=Crossing the Stage: Controversies on Cross-Dressing|last=Ferris|first=Lesley|date=2005-08-15|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134924530|language=en}}</ref> In this performance, gender norms are erased, and the binary is played upon. This performance has been critiqued due to the female actors dressing as men. Because most instances of cross-dressing are males dressing up ultra-feminine, this performance was unusual.<ref name=":2" /> It was said that this type of performance further holds men to be superior to women. Additionally, it has been criticized that cross-dressing reinforces the gender binary, which so many feminists have worked to eliminate.
== Awards == 2017: Innovative Theatre Achievement Award
2014: Hemispheric Institute of Performance Senior Fellowship, Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw
1999: Obie, best performer Peggy Shaw for ''Menopausal Gentleman''
1991: Obie, best ensemble, Split Britches and Bloolips, for ''Belle Reprieve''
1988: Obie, best performer Peggy Shaw for ''Dress Suits to Hire''<ref name="Obie88">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=n.d.|title=88 Obie Awards |url=https://www.obieawards.com/events/1980s/year-88/ |website=Obie Awards |location= |publisher= |access-date=December 2, 2025}}</ref>
1985: The Villager Award for best ensemble
==Shows==
''Unexploded Ordnances (UXO),'' 2016-present
''RUFF'', 2012–present<ref name="Split Britches Discography">{{cite web |title=Split Britches, Discography |url=http://splitbritches.wordpress.com/performance/discography/ |publisher=Split Britches |accessdate=25 April 2014|date=2011-02-17 }}</ref>
''What Tammy Found Out'', 2012–present
''Lost Lounge'', 2009–2011
''Miss America'', 2008–2009
''Retro-Perspective'', 2007–present
''MUST'', 2007–present
''Diary of a Domestic Terrorist'', 2005
''What Tammy Needs to Know'', 2004
''To My Chagrin'', 2003
''Miss Risque'', 2001
''It's a Small House and We Lived in It Always'', 1999
''Little Women'', 1998
''Little Women, The Tragedy'', 1998
''Salad of the Bad Cafe'', 1998
''Valley of the Dolls'', 1997
''Faith and Dancing'', 1996
''Menopausal Gentleman'', 1996
''Lust and Comfort'', 1994
''You're Just Like My Father'', 1993
''Lesbians Who Kill'', 1992
''Anniversary Waltz'', 1990
''Of All The Nerve, 1990''
''Belle Reprieve'', 1990
''Little Women, The Tragedy'', 1988
''Dress Suits for Hire'', 1987
''Patience and Sarah'', 1987
''Upwardly Mobile Home'', 1984
''Beauty and the Beast'', 1982
''Split Britches, The True Story'', 1980
==See also== *Holly Hughes *WOW Cafe Theatre
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *Gillespie, Benjamin. "Split Britches" in Noriega and Schildcrout (eds.) ''50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre'', pp. 223-227. Routledge, 2022. ISBN 978-1032067964. *''Split Britches: Lesbian Practice/Feminist Performance'', edited by Sue-Ellen Case, Routledge, 1997. {{ISBN|9780415127653}}
==External links== *http://www.split-britches.com/ * [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/splitbritches/index.html Guide to the Split Britches Archive, 1978-2000], the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University * [https://archive.org/details/sim_boston-phoenix_1982-02-02_11_5/page/15/mode/1up ''Split Britches'' at Boston's Theater Works] * [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/entities/6690 Split Britches] at [https://catalog.lamama.org/ La MaMa Archive]
Category:1980 establishments in New York City Category:Feminism in New York City Category:Feminist theatre Category:Lesbian culture in New York (state) Category:Lesbian feminist mass media Category:LGBTQ theatre companies Category:LGBTQ theatre in the United States Category:Organizations established in 1980