The TV show RuPaul's Drag Race brought drag culture to the mainstream, and with it some fierce Jewish queens such as Sasha Velour and Jinkx Monsoon. But this art form has a long and diverse history going back centuries and across many cultures - as a performance practice, as personal expression, as survival, as rebellion and revolution. Going back to biblical times, we will trace the subversive roots of cross-dressing in ancient texts, move through the traditions of drag queens and kings in Yiddish diaspora theatre, visit modern day gender-bending drag in prime-time TV and examine sabra drag among the LGBTQIA+ Israeli community. Expect Torah study alongside lip-sync performances, comedy sketches side-by-side with yiddishkeit, and loads of educational, enlightening, entertaining queer fun!

Stav Meishar (she/they) is an award-winning performance maker, interdisciplinary stage artist, researcher and educator. Stav's research spans their many interests, intersecting Jewish history, circus history and/or queer history. Their research has been presented in academic conferences, festivals and public events throughout the world. Stav received her MA in Contemporary Circus Practices from the Stockholm University of the Arts. They hold a BFA in Musical Theatre from The New School in New York summa cum laude, with a double minor in Gender Studies and Jewish Culture. You may recognize Stav from having been our Mishpacha Tot Shabbat leader between 2012-2017.