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John Waters will present a keynote at the "Resoundingly Queer" conference March 31.

Filmmaker John Waters, scholars, activists and performance artists will come together March 30-April 1 at Cornell's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts for "Resoundingly Queer," a conference exploring the dimension of sound in contemporary studies of gender and sexuality.

With academics, practitioners and artists in conversation and in performance, the conference, presented by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, is being held in conjunction with the Society for the Humanities' yearlong exploration of sound. The conference has been organized by assistant professors of theatre, film and dance Nick Salvato and Sara Warner.

Conference participants will share work that considers the utility of the term "queer" and the ways that it resonates -- or fails to do so -- with urgent contemporary issues. Topics to be addressed include the sounds of bodies in pleasure, pain, rapture and recoil; silence as an aesthetic and political strategy; freedom of speech and its limitations; and queer music in performance and everyday life. All events are free and open to the public.

"'Resoundingly Queer' provides us with an opportunity to bring together some of the most prominent queer performers and some of the most prominent scholars of queer performance working in North America today," Salvato said. "In this way, the mission of the conference echoes the mission of our department, where theory and practice, study and production come together in our work on performance and media."

Waters' films, including "Pink Flamingos," "Polyester," "Cry-Baby" and "Hairspray," have made an art form of embracing trash and sleaze in American culture. He also is a fine art photographer and the author of "Art -- A Sex Book" (2003) and a memoir, "Role Models" (2010). His keynote performance at the conference, "This Filthy World," is March 31 at 4:30 p.m. in Kiplinger Theatre.

The conference begins March 30 at 2 p.m., with opening remarks followed by an academic panel on "Sound It Out: Queer/ing Evidence" at 2:30 p.m. in Kiplinger Theatre.

David Savran, Ph.D. '78, presents a keynote talk at 4:30 p.m., "The Queer Brand on Broadway: The American Musical from Porter to 'The Book of Mormon.'"

Associate professor Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, accompanied by Ithaca musician Mary Lorson, will present "Performance Poetry," at 7:30 p.m. in the Flex Theatre, followed at 8:30 p.m. by Brian Herrera of the University of New Mexico, performing "I Was the Voice of Democracy."

The schedule March 31 includes a panel, "Homo Phones: Queer Timbres," at 9 a.m.; a performance at 11 a.m. of "The Girl Who Lost Her Voice" by Joan Lipkin of That Uppity Theater Company; and a 12:30 p.m. presentation, "Reborn: Animating the Archive," by Moe Angelos of the New York-based theater group The Builders Association.

Mick Jagger, Duke Ellington, punk band The Germs and the finale of Stephen Sondheim's "Company" are the presentation topics in "Read My Lisp: Pink Noise," a scholarly panel at 2 p.m. in Kiplinger Theatre.

Following Waters' 4:30 p.m. presentation and a dinner break, "An Evening of Queer Cabaret," 8 p.m. in the Flex Theatre, will feature performance artists Holly Hughes, Carmelita Tropicana, Terry Galloway and Light/Dred.

On April 1, Jill Dolan of Princeton University delivers a third keynote, "Feeling Women's Culture: Women's Music, Lesbian Feminism and the Impact of Emotional Memory," at 9 a.m. in Kiplinger Theatre; followed at 10:30 a.m. by a staged reading of "Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England," written by Madeleine George '96 and directed by associate professor of theatre, film and dance Beth Milles.

Director/writer/performer Sue Perlgut presents a preview of "Leading 'Ladies'" at 1 p.m. in the Kiplinger Theatre, followed by a closing roundtable discussion at 1:30 p.m. with Angelos, Jimmy Noriega, Tropicana, Cornell lecturer Byron Suber and theatre, film and dance department chair Amy Villarejo.

Conference participants from Cornell also include Masha Raskolnikov, Margo Crawford, Judith Peraino, Ellen Gainor, Saida Hodzic, Debra Castillo, Lucinda Ramberg, Lindsay Cummings, Brian Hanrahan, Teresa Knight, Clare Hane, Aoise Stratford and Lynne Stahl.

Information: http://theatrefilmdance.cornell.edu/events/resoundinglyqueer.cfm.