This course meets EM distribution requirement!
Theater artists routinely bend, twist and break all kinds of rules to create the imaginary worlds they bring to life on stage. Why, then, has the American theater so struggled to meaningfully address questions of equity, diversity and inclusion? In this course, we undertake a critical, creative and historical overview of agitation and advocacy by theater artist-activists aiming to transform American theatre-making as both industry and creative practice, as we connect those histories with the practices, structures and events determining the ways diversity is (and is not) a guiding principle of contemporary American theater.
Sample reading list:
Angela Pao, No Safe Spaces:Re-casting Race, Ethnicity and Nationality
August Wilson, The Ground on Which I Stand
Alice Childress, Trouble in Mind
David Henry Hwang, Yellowface
Jackie Sibbles Drury, We Are A Proud to Present a Presentation
See instructor for complete list
Reading/Writing assignments:
Roughly 100-150 pages of reading per week, with occasional screenings, field trips and performances as required. Regular short writing assignments throughout the semester, and a final project.
Other information:
A field trip to New York City may be required. If so, basic costs will be covered by the program. Grading – 10% Other: At semester’s end, course participants will convene a public panel discussion to address core questions of the course.
