F*CK THE ARMY! | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation

This book offers the first, fully narrated history of the FTA, an antiwar variety show featuring Jane Fonda that played to tens of thousands of active-duty troops over the course of nine months in 1971. From its very conception, the civilian-led show was directed towards the project of making visible the growing antiwar movement organized by GIs, inspired by but also acting as a rebuttal to the increasingly out-of-touch USO tours presented by Bob Hope. Through an analysis of the FTA’s tactical performances of solidarity and resistance, based on interviews with participants and archival research,  F*CK THE ARMY! brings into view the theatrical dimensions of the GI movement itself, revealing it as representative of the revolutionary and theatrical politics and tactics of the period. The volume highlights how, due to the movement’s subsequent historical erasure, a renewed anti-theatricality emerged from the 1960s and became a potent feature of contemporary political discourse.

Lindsay Goss is joining us on the Busboys stage to share more about her research as a theater historian and performance theorist and how soldiers and civilians staged the GI movement to end the Vietnam War. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Goss will be signing following the program.

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of F*CK THE ARMY! will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed. 

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Lindsay Goss is a theater historian, performance theorist, and theater artist. Her work explores how popular discourses of authenticity shape public perception of activist practices and inform contemporary theatre and performance. Her scholarly work has appeared in TDR, Contemporary Theatre Review, Performance Research and Afterimage. As a director, actor and teaching artist, she has worked with companies in Minneapolis and St. Paul; New York; and Providence, Rhode Island. Most recently, she wrote and directed Group Project at Temple University in 2022.

Host or Publisher Busboys and Poets