Wednesday, December 13, 2017
7:00- 9:00 p.m.
Arts Council of Princeton, Paul Robeson Center for the Arts
Free and open to public
RSVP encouraged
A presentation of work created by Princeton students from Assistant Professor Brian Herrera’s “Autobiographical Storytelling: Princeton, Slavery, and Me” course, which is focusing on the stories we do (and don’t) tell about ourselves, as well as the stories we do (and don’t) tell about Princeton University. This workshop course engaged directly with the historical materials unearthed by the Princeton and Slavery Project as students rehearsed the writing and performance skills necessary to take the raw material drawn from lived experience and remake it into compelling autobiographical storytelling. Working in an array of storytelling modes, course participants will share stories about how the history of slavery at Princeton University guides, informs, or challenges our ethical and moral understandings of the stories we choose to tell about ourselves.
The performance is free and open to the public, but reservations are encouraged: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princeton-slavery-and-me-arts-council-of-princeton-community-stage-tickets-39226596807
Seating is first come, first seated. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released 15 minutes before start time, and seats may become available at that time.
Brian Herrera, Assistant Professor of Theater: In this “work demo,” these students will showcase some of the methods and techniques we’ve used over the course of the semester, as they also share some of the personal stories they’ve developed along the way. Not all of the stories will engage the materials archived in the Princeton & Slavery Project, but all reckon with what it means to have Princeton University, with all its contradictions, as a central part of one’s personal history.
Our stories explore the contingent “privilege” of being a Princeton student, and what “being a Princeton student” means when you’re also a person of color.
— Gaby Escalante ‘18
By sharing our stories, we hope to invite a connection between the university and the surrounding community.
— Jess Goehring ‘19
We want to share some insight into the experience of being a Princeton student, and how it effects our identity and our outlook.
— Kwame Emaning ‘20
I hope our stories can begin a conversation and help to develop a connection between us as Princeton students and the greater Princeton community.
— Sam Davies ‘18
This reading is part of the Arts Council of Princeton’s Community Stage Series. Community Stage productions are free (and nearly free) held in collaboration with local artistic groups and organizations. Community Stage programming enable the Arts Council’s Solley Theater to act as an accessible space for community partnerships and high-quality artistic experiences.
