Re-Imagining Commedia as An Antiracist Practice through ‘The Artful Token’: A Creative Practice-as-Research
in PARtake: The Journal of Performance as Research Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022)
ARTICLES
https://doi.org/10.33011/partake.v5i1.1447
Published 2022-12-15
Jordan Rosin
It’s been two years in the making, but I’m excited to announce my very first peer-reviewed article in an academic journal!
| Abstract |
| This essay considers the opportunities and limitations of Contemporary Commedia as an antiracist / anti-oppressive form of theatre and the role of a director-as-facilitator in relationship to Lecoq’s actor-creator through reflection on a practice-as-research project: devising an “Antiracist Commedia for Zoom” with undergraduate students at an American university. Blending The Ume Group’s Devising Methodology, Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process, Theatrical Intimacy Education Best Practices, aspects of Black Acting Methods/Hip Hop Theatre and Nicole Brewer’s Antiracist Theatre principles, one can see a variety of paths for consent-forward, harm preventative approaches to devising and improvising in the traditionally free-wheeling territories of improvised comedy and satire. While challenging to assess dramaturgically, improvised or partially-improvised forms like commedia which emphasize the autonomy and agency of the actor may actually help to create space for much-needed focus on mental health, harm prevention, and the explication of antiracist or other philosophical statements of belief around which a devised theatrical project can revolve and an ensemble can cohere. Consent-forward approaches, improvisation, and an expanded role for the actor-creator may demand a shift in the role of the director from auteur to facilitator, for which shift change theories such as Emergent Strategy may be well suited to support. |
Citation:
| MLA |
| Rosin, J. “Re-Imagining Commedia As An Antiracist Practice through ’The Artful Token’: A Creative Practice-As-Research”. PARtake: The Journal of Performance As Research, vol. 5, no. 1, Dec. 2022, doi:10.33011/partake.v5i1.1447. |
Acknowledgements
Big thanks to Nicole Brewer / Anti-Racist Theatre and adrienne maree brown / Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute for inspiring so much of the project and writing.
Big thanks to all the people who helped make it possible! Fabio Motta, Keelie Sheridan and The Ume Group; Tony Fuemmeler; Devair Jeffries; Rachel Kilgore; and Kaitlyn Samuel Rosin.
Big thanks to Patricia Raun, Bob Leonard, Cara Rawlings, & Natasha Staley Johnson for supporting and mentoring all my teaching and research during my fellowship at Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts.
Big thanks to The Association of Theatre Movement Educators (ATME) and their “Innovation Fellowship” for funding the work and the College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences ”International Initiatives” award for funding Fabio’s participation in the project.
Thanks to Emily Rollie for mentoring the conference presentation and early drafts of the paper.
And to the cast and crew of the show! THANK YOU for playing with me!
It takes a village!