Yan Ma was a postdoc in Chinese performance cultures that supported by a grant from the Taiwan Ministry of Education.
Dr. Ma obtained her PhD from the Asian Theatre Program in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2020. Her dissertation, “Gendering Male Dan: Jingju Male Cross-Gender Performers and Performance in the Post-Cultural Revolution Era,” identifies and explicates the gender politics of the jingju (Beijing/Peking “opera”) male dan (male actors performing female roles) in the post-Cultural Revolution era (1976 to the present). Specifically, it investigates the gendered obstacles in training and developing male dan, the interactions between the identity of male dan and the ways individual male dan pursue their careers, as well as the gendered perspectives of male dan and other parties on dan role (female role) training and performance. In addition to her expertise in Chinese theatre, Ma has a broad research interest in Asian theatre, Asian American theatre, queer theatre, and performance studies. She is passionate about exploring the intersection between performing arts and the issues of race, gender, sex, and sexuality. She has extensive experience in teaching Chinese language, Chinese theatre history, theory, and performance, as well as in directing and performing in traditional Chinese theatre and intercultural theatre productions.