‘I Begin Again’: Witnessing Rebecca Ranson’s Atlanta Restricted; Files & ToC
Turner, Olivia (Spring 2025)
Abstract
On the 10th floor of Emory University’s Woodruff Library, 63 gray file boxes contain a playwright’s life—or parts of it. The rest of Rebecca Ranson’s essence is dispersed in Atlanta’s fringe arts scene, shimmering in the corners of theaters and warehouses, visible only to a specific type of observer: perhaps female, artistic, queer, or all three. Few Atlantans remain to tell the story of the first AIDS play to emerge from the gay mecca of the South and the dynamic playwright who wrote it.
What you’re about to read is an unconventional biography of Ranson’s life infused with my own experience discovering her. In the pages that follow, I make the case that Ranson, while relatively unknown, is a significant figure in queer U.S. Southern history. I’ll take you to Little Five Points to peer into the darkened windows of the 7 Stages Theatre and imagine Ranson’s many productions there. You’ll walk with me down Euclid Ave., chat with strangers in Manuel’s Tavern, and perhaps come to realize, just as I have, that Rebecca Ranson is still here.
Table of Contents
This table of contents is under embargo until 22 May 2027
About this Honors Thesis
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Primary PDF
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File download under embargo until 22 May 2027 | 2025-04-08 19:50:53 -0400 | File download under embargo until 22 May 2027 |
Supplemental Files
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