Hernandez, C. (2018). The femme playlist ; I cannot lie to the stars that made me. Playwrights Canada Press.

As a CIS gendered, white male settler, it is not hard for me to find stories that reinforce my background and identity. Part of the problem with my education and upbringing was that I wasn’t exposed to enough diversity of experiences, voices and identity. My lack of exposure impacted my worldview and way of thinking profoundly. I would never have described myself as intolerant, but definitely ignorant. This is something that I have tried to rectify in my adulthood and as a drama teacher in the secondary system in Ontario. It is our responsibility to ensure that all voices have a meaningful place in the classroom, and that space is given to discuss and reflect on tough social issues/topics. 

The Femme Playlist by Catherine Hernandez is a resource of great importance to anyone teaching secondary Drama, especially senior courses. It is a text that “reveals the reality of living as a queer woman of color,” and explores hard truths of sexual awakening and identity. Being who I am, it is my duty and responsibility to learn from and hold up the voices of women, LGBTQ2S+, and racialized voices. Our exploration of drama cannot be limited to old, white voices (often dead, British, and male - see above), but must be spaces where we will learn from this “journey of a closeted woman to body-proud queer femme,” and other historically marginalized voices in order to develop empathy, social justice and a deeper understanding of the human condition. 

The play encapsulates Hernandez’s life and experiences. Each scene is framed by the playlist of the playwright’s life. It is a one woman show, with the performer assuming the role of She, Mom, Sister Grace, and others. The play is told through a series of vignettes, with a focus on the experiences as they happen to “She”. It is not a linear story. As She states in the beginning, “over the course of this evening, I will engage you in a public incubation of me.”  

This resource is not one that you will be able to perform in most classrooms. The themes, language and issues raised in the piece (racism, sexism, assault, etc.) make it more appropriate for a senior Drama course than an intermediate class, and you must discuss possible triggers with your students prior to exploration. The Femme Playlist centers Hernandez’s queerness and ethnicity. In her playwright’s note, she says that the performer “should be of Filipino descent, a parent and queer.” I believe firmly in exploration of themes, issues and performance without the appropriation of voice or culture. We might not have the students to perform this piece, but this play gives us a catalyst for creation and performance. 

How can we use this in the classroom? Hernandez’s story can be used as a provocation for creation. Her exploration of her own identity and experiences can be the jumping off point for students to explore their own identities and experience through monologues and storytelling. It must be noted that we want to focus on the positive outcomes of exploring our identity and telling our stories. The exploration and utilization of the text must be done in a trauma-informed manner, acknowledging what we are going to explore and how we are going to explore it, without dwelling on the trauma and using it as a vehicle to explore students’ personal trauma. 

Another strategy is to have the students react and write responses to Hernandez or journal their responses, creating the raw materials for performance, or they can conduct research on the topics discussed in the piece in order to create their own work alongside The Femme Playlist. And, finally, they could create a playlist for their own life and explore those moments through monologue and storytelling. Again, the exploration of their own playlist should be steered toward healthy experiences and not dwell on trauma.  

This play is a perfect piece to read and explore with a senior drama class. Its explorations of queerness, trauma, and abuse are powerful, and the stories are ones that we can all learn from. I work in a rural high school, with a population that is predominantly white, and we have faced some adversity lately regarding our Genders and Sexualities Alliances (GSA) club and homophobia. The Femme Playlist, and similar plays, are essential tools to burst any bubbles that we might inhabit, and expose students to voices and experiences removed from themselves, in order to develop empathy and understanding for the betterment of all society and the necessary safety of those who are marginalized. No one is saying that we can’t teach Shakespeare, but we need to put more thought into what voices we utilize and to what end.