Heavier Than Air

With the explosion of interest in the experiences of young people in schools, it was only a matter of time until we turned our eyes to the experiences of LGBTQ teachers. This performance and performance animates transcripts from real-life teachers that ask audiences to critically consider the ‘performance’ of being an LGBTQ teacher in today’s schools. This paper will present excerpts from this full-length play that has gone from standard ethnographic study through devised research into a professionally-produced full length play while retaining verbatim transcripts of interviews with Australian LGBTIQ-identified teachers. Using the metaphor of paper airplane flight, which models and mobilizes efforts to move bodies and identities that can feel ‘heavier than air,’ this performance highlights how LGBTQ teachers remain spectral/partial figures in schools that refuse to invite our ‘whole selves’ in.