Decentering/Recentering the Western Canon in the Contemporary American Theater

Why do some BIPOC dramatists (from the US and Canada) choose to adapt/revise/re-envision/deconstruct/rewrite/appropriate canonical texts from the Western theatrical tradition? While their choices might be accused of re-centering and reinforcing “white”narratives that often marginalize and/or exoticize racial and ethnic others, we might also see this risky venture as a useful strategy to write oneself into a tradition that is itself constantly being revised and reevaluated and to claim that tradition as one’s own. What are the artistic, cultural, and economic “rewards”for deploying this method of playmaking? What are risks?

Faculty

Sections

S01

Tuesdays + Thursdays,
11 AM - 12:20 PM

Instructor(s)

Michael Cadden