Contemporary Black theatre and performance : acts of rebellion, activism, and solidarity / DeRon S. Williams [and four others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Williams, DeRon S., author.

Series:

Methuen Drama Agitations: Text, Politics and Performances

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American theater.

African Americans--Intellectual life.

African Americans.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (172 pages)

Place of Publication:

London, UK : Methuen Drama, [2023]

Summary:

How are Black artists, activists, and pedagogues wielding acts of rebellion, activism, and solidarity to precipitate change? How have contemporary performances impacted Black cultural, social, and political struggles? What are the ways in which these acts and artists engage varied Black identities and explore shared histories? Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance investigates these questions to illuminate the relationship between performance, identity, intersectionality, and activism in North America and beyond. It features contributions from scholars, artists, and activists from across disciplines who explore the nuances and varied forms of Black performance in the 21st century while incorporating performance-based methodologies and queer and black feminist theories. Among the many topics addressed by contributors are antiracist pedagogy, Black queer identity formation in Black playwriting, digital blackface, and Black women's subversive practices within contemporary popular culture. It encompasses dramatic analysis of Lynn Nottage's Sweat, Tarell Alvin McCraney's Choir Boy, and acts of resistance during the Black Lives Matter summer 2020 highway protests. A series of conversations with artists and scholars are woven throughout the book's three sections, including with playwrights Christina Anderson and Donja R. Love, and Willa Taylor, Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago.

Contents:

Intro

Halftitle Page

Title Page

Dedication Page

Contents

List of Illustrations

Notes on Contributors

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1 Stage as a Site of Radical Possibilities

1 Sweat Equity: Lynn Nottage's Dramaturgy of Deindustrialization

2 "Those Songs Were More than Just": Spirituals, Queer Reckonings, and Tarell Alvin McCraney's

3 Trauma, Truth, and Turning the Lens: Black Theatre Artists and White Theatre Audiences

In the Trenches: A Conversation with Christina Anderson

Part 2 Performance in the Making

4 Re-writing the Declaration: Healing in Theatre from a Black, Queer, Feminist Lens

5 ineffable Dramaturgies: Experiments in Black Queer and Trans Theatre

6 Reconsidering and Recasting

7 Reflecting on "The Work" of We Are the Canon: AntiRacist Theatre Pedagogy Workshops

In the Trenches: A Conversation with Donja R. Love

Part 3 Performance and/as Protest

8 (W)Right of Way: Black Geographies and American Interstates

9 Honk for Justice Chicago

10 Grunt Work: Serena Williams' Black Sound Acts As Resistance

11 Black Squares, White Faces: Cancel Culture and Protest in the Age of Digital Blackface

In the Trenches: A Conversation with Willa J. Taylor

Bibliography

Index

Imprint.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781350252943

1350252948

OCLC:

1369651034