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Commentary: As winter approaches, Occupy can use theater to maintain protest
Benjamin Kabialis, The Berkeley Beacon [Emerson College newspaper] 11/10/11
During the Great Depression, a burgeoning population of workers' theater groups stamped on posters and playbills a common and empowering phrase: "Theater is a weapon." Theater welcomed the exuberance of material forged from the passions of deeply personal battles for workers' rights, and workers cultivated theater as a tool to raise class-consciousness. As American theater looks for the spark of revolution and Occupy Wall Street receives criticism for lack of direction, participants in both camps must take hold of this powerful partnership. Why does American theater dissolve while Occupy Wall Street bolsters its ranks? The latter is held together by a shared and deeply personal connection to the cause, while the former has become an institution completely out of touch with reality. Rather than an exploration of humanity, theater has become an exploration of theater. In colleges and universities actors study the craft of acting and playwrights study the writing of plays. The art form has become a sort of members-only party with no guiding principles outside those of economics. In several ways, Broadway's grandiose theaters, movie star performers, and steep ticket prices mirror the 1% of America's Wall Street. The Worker's Laboratory Theater, the Group Theater, and the Labor Stage were only a few of hundreds of troupes during the 1930s that proved theater could thrive without the resources or splendor of Broadway. Throughout the 1930s workers' movement, theater proved strongest when used as a tool for holding protest groups together. With winter approaching and harsh media criticism growing, Occupy Wall Street can use theater as a way of building community and maintaining a sense of passion in their own ranks.
As winter approaches, Occupy can use theater to maintain protest
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This is an excerpt from a piece I did during a COTE "Home and Garden" rehearsal. The prompt was "Why Do You Go to the Theatre"?
A friend of mine, who’s a pretty well respected Manhattan therapist recently asked me, “Ashley – why are you in theatre?” and my response was “I imagine it’s the same reason you’re a psychotherapist.”
This threw her off guard.
“And that is?”
“I have a lot of unanswered questions about myself and the world that can only begin to be explored through art.”
“Oh?” Her eyes got big and invested like she had hit gold. I probably should have stopped there, but apparently since I like to “test boundaries” (something she often brings to my attention) I add, “Yeah. And I’m sick of being lied to…”
I have no idea where this even came from but I think that’s what she was looking for because she smirked. Not a big grin, but just enough that I could tell she’s onto something. She’s totally baiting me but I’ve been around too many therapists for far too long to fall for this so I make an allusion to “In Treatment”.
“Don’t Paul me..” I say.
“Paul?”
Paul is the psychoanalyst on HBO’s drama “In Treatment”, Gabriel Byrne’s character, the role he should have received the Emmy for… God, there’s nothing I like more than making obscure television references to make awkward situations slightly more… awkward.
Of course, she brings me back down to earth or back to the conversation at least.
“Who’s lying to you?” She asks it sweetly at first and I pretend not to hear which only makes her ask it again with more motivation, “Who’s lying to you?”
I shrug. Alright, I admit, that was the wrong can of worms to open. Now I would be forced to give an explanation. I should I give her something deep, something worth pondering. Something about my childhood. Therapists love that shit. It’s like on that episode of the X-Files where Mulder undergoes hypnotic regression that totally brings up severe childhood traumas stemming from when his sister was abducted by aliens … I digress.
“Well, you see, as a kid my only solace in my broken home was through becoming someone else. It was the only place I could find my true self, my many selves…” Insert “United States of Tara” reference right here.
I guess there’s no need to manipulate. Perhaps she really does want to know why I feel I have been so mislead by my family, my country, my government, the whole damn world that the only place I can be free is on stage – whether it be through the characters I develop as a playwright, breathe life into as an actor or the incredibly deep worlds I invent as a director, the worlds that most of the time I wish I could dive into and live in forever. The truth is, for a number of reasons, I don’t feel safe exploring the controversial and sensitive material that my work deals with outside of my “workspace”. Blame it on whatever you’d like, the twenty six death threats I received in my e-mail box after speaking on CNN World or the third “terrorist watch list” my name was added to after directing a show about Palestinians, and no not Hamas fighters, just the regular day to day happenings of life under military occupation.
“Have you heard the saying ‘Politicians use lies to cover the truth while artists use lies to tell it?’ It’s in the film V for Vendetta. I’ve seen too much truth and the only way to even begin to scratch the tip of the iceberg of rage I’m feeling is through theatre. I am one angry mother fucker. And if I didn’t have an outlet for it, I guarantee you I’d be painting a white padded cell with my own blood and shit… like Miguel Alvarez in Oz. Oh, don’t tell me you missed Oz… I’m not talking about Dorothy’s Oz either…
Okay.
Maybe I “go to” the theatre to avoid the hard stuff.
In recent months I’ve become so good at transforming my pain to paper that I’ve forgotten how to feel.
I don’t pretend to think this is a good thing.
Or a funny thing.
Or something I should be particularly proud of.
Well, it’s not entirely a bad thing either.
There’s no shame.
It just is.
It is.
It is perhaps the only way I have been able to get through the day.
It is a survival mechanism of sorts.
I once played this character who was incarcerated for arson. She would get mad and just light shit on fire in her cell. She was bad ass. Crazy, but bad ass.
I want to be bad ass.
Jolene Shatila, a character I penned, handled the illness of her beloved life partner a lot better than I have my mother.
I want that courage.
And assistant directing Ragtime made me almost forgot how abandoned I feel by my own father when the curtain falls.
I go to the theatre when I can’t go home.
At some point I learned that it’s easier to have the dialogue I want to have in real life through my characters. You know what dialogue I’m talking about, the one that most recently has been ending with me making references to obscure television shows…
I guess you didn’t expect to hear that, huh?
I'm fascinated by "theatre people" that hate theatre. No really, I am.
What I mean... A friend of one of my creative partners was making his Broadway debut and we were hooked up with free tickets for one of his first previews. Generally these previews are packed with fellow "theatre people"... producers, directors, actors, playwrights, designers, marketing, etc... Often times, the discussions before and after the show with audience members are just as interesting as the play itself.
That night I got into a conversation with a typical 20-something director sitting near me that went something like this: "I heard great things about this playwright and show. I'm very excited..." I said and spoke a bit about the playwright, the development of the work and how exciting it was that it was his Broadway debut and how the play had evolved.
"Oh. I'll believe it when I see it..." He responded in a typical smug mid 20-something director way and went on to acknowledge how he has absolutely hated everything he has seen this season, hasn't been blown away by the theatre in years and can't fathom why half the shows in NY are a waste of time, the actors suck, the playwrights suck and the directors suck even more etc. etc. etc.
When he finished I stared at him for a moment. Of course, this is nothing out of the ordinary. I have several friends like this. There are many people like this in the theatre community (and even more in academia). In fact, with his big fro, hipster glasses and blue button down, he reminded me of a graduate student.
When conversations like these go down generally I smile, nod and go back to reading my program but this time I said "Wow. That's really sad."
"What do you mean?"
"It must be really sad to be an artist and so uninspired by other people's work."
"Uh...um..."
"I mean, how do you grapple with that? How do you stay inspired? "
The lights went down and he jetted after the show so I didn't have a chance to hear his response but it really brought this issue to light, yet again. There is a fine line between being an intelligent critic and an insecure asshole. Often when reading reviews you can tell who writes with a passion for theatre and who writes as a failed artist who takes their rage out on others who are putting themselves out there.
So, this is my ode (or perhaps just a public acknowledgement) to the "theatre people" that hate theatre. We all know these types. They are our friends, colleagues, teachers and former classmates. Mostly they are artists (or former artists) who at some point couldn't handle the rejection any longer (and who can blame them really?) They are the ones who go to shows wanting it to flop, perhaps to make themselves feel better about their own failures or because they genuinely get a thrill from watching others suffer.
I feel bad for these folks.
Porch Light Production's Beyond Therapy opens this week! It's going to be super fun, zany and a (very short) break from the super heavy material I usually work on. I would love to see you there! I'm playing Charlotte Wallace, psychoanalyst extraordinaire. Need therapy? Charlotte's your girl! Need good therapy? Charlotte may not be your girl... In any case, she will warm your heart and make you smile.
2011 is off to a busy start. Next week I'll be filming the first episode of a paranormal television pilot called Beyond Haunted, which is being pitched to several cable networks. I'll be one of the paranormal investigators (think Ghost Hunters). It's a dream gig, as deep down ya'all know I've always wanted to be Fox Mulder (from the X-Files)... j/k. Also, last week I was interviewed on author Liz Funk's blog for her new project "Coming of Age in a Crap Economy". It's short and fun. Would love for you to check it out.
Finally, I'll be back to political theatre at the end of the month. Co-Op Theatre East is producing Trojan Women Redux, opening January 28th at the Looking Glass Theater in midtown. COTE's Literary Director, Casey Cleverly has adapted and directed this unbelievable piece which raises consciousness on the current sex and human trafficking crisis happening throughout the globe. We are collaborating with several non-profits working on this issue to encourage audiences to take a stand and become active in ending sexual violence and human trafficking.
I have also just started rehearsals for several upcoming projects that I'm directing with my youth performance company, Project Girl Performance Collective. Our 2011 season includes performances at the United Nations, NJ State Theater, Richmond Virginia Holocaust Museum and various schools, Universities throughout the tri-state area, plus the development of a new piece with young men and women called "10 Years Later: Voices from the Post 9/11 Generation Speak" in which we're exploring the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks and this idea of a "post 9/11 generation". I can't begin to express my excitement over this project. We have kids coming from as far as West Virginia and Maryland each week to be part of this and it's going to be something really special.
Both Project Girl Performance Collective and Co-Op Theatre East have completely taken off in 2010 and it's because of the support from audiences and YOU! Right now the sky's the limit for both of these companies and we're ecstatic about our 2011 season and looking ahead!
***
Written by Christopher Durang
Directed by Ryan Pifher
Porch Light Productions
555 Broad Street
Glen Rock, NJ
Jan 14 - Jan 30, 2011
Fridays & Saturday @ 8PM, Sundays @ 2PM Adult: $25.00
Student/Senior: $22.00
Please call (201) 857-3520 for tickets or visit:
www.porchlightproductions.org
Phyto Stratis (Bruce), Rachael Lee (Prudence), Omar Robinson (Bob), Ashley Marinaccio (Charlotte), Bill Porterfield (Stuart) & Jon E. Sims (Andrew).
Bruce and Prudence are deeply into therapy. Prudence's macho therapist (Stuart) is urging her to be more assertive while Bruce's wacky female therapist (Charlotte) wants him to meet women by placing a personal ad. She does not fully comprehend that Bruce has a male lover (Bob) who is not pleased by Bruce's desire to date a woman: Prudence. Bruce doesn't know how to handle poor nervous Prudence and Prudence doesn't know what to make of her unpredictable new boyfriend. They do learn to live "beyond therapy" in this delightful Off Broadway hit that moved successfully to Broadway. Labels: acting, Performances, theatre
I've been lame on blog posts this past month. Thankfully, it's because I've been busy. COTE just closed "Questionable Content" last week and I have another instillment of GirlPower (with a brand new cast) coming up October 8th and 9th. More updates are to come.
In honor of GirlPower I'm posting the 50/50 in 2020 Action list. The objective of 50/50 in 2020 is to achieve parity for professional women theater artists by 2020. Even today, women playwrights, directors, and designers receive fewer than 20% of the professional production opportunities nationwide.
50/50 in 2020 Action List
1. Write a letter to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) requesting that gender parity in the arts be a national funding priority. Direct letters to Mr. Rocco Landesman, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506-0001.
2. Recruit fans to the 50/50 in 2020 page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/5050-in-
2020/150326422323?ref=ts). Take personal responsibility for attracting at least 5 new members. This will help us to communicate with and energize an effective base of support on very short notice. Numbers matter!
3. Write to your local theaters and request gender parity now! Tell them that you will only buy tickets to productions or subscriptions to seasons involving equal representation of female and male playwrights, directors, designers, actors, and administrators. Address your letters to the staff leadership (check their website, but usually the Artistic Director and Executive/Managing Director) and copy all members of the theater’s Board of Directors. If possible, gather a diplomatic team in your town or neighborhood and request permission to meet in person with the Board of your local theater, and then talk to them about the moral and legal requisite for
gender parity, and tell them that you’ll take your concerns about their failure to provide equal opportunity for women to the local media, the theater’s funders, and local politicians if you do not see action in the short term.
4. Hold a “50/50 in 2020 night” in your neighborhood or theater. Create an event worth attending, and ask everyone to do engage in the activist options presented here. When you organize an event, let us know, so that we can help you spread the word.
5. Use social media to advance the cause. Urge your friends to blog about the topic. Comment on relevant postings in Facebook. Retweet pertinent entries on Twitter. Post your status on Linked In as being concerned about the lack of gender parity among professional women theater artists. Take an active interest in spreading the word in whatever viral/virtual medium with which you associate, and ask your friends to do the same. Again, numbers matter! The more widespread the conversation about the cause becomes, the more profound the impact will be among employers, funders, and media.
6. Encourage your friends, family, and any fellow union or guild members to buy tickets and subscriptions to theaters that support the work of professional women theater artists. If possible, track the positive response and send it to us and to your local media. Eventually, we plan to produce an annual Report Card rating the theaters who are best or worst about producing and hiring women.
7. If you work at an educational institution, then organize a petition addressed to publishers demanding that more plays by women throughout history be published. Tell them how you include a particular play or anthology of plays in your classroom. Make sure that the work of women is taught in all undergraduate and graduate theater programs.
8. If you are established in the theater, then begin mentoring an emerging or mid-career artist/administrator! Be generous about extending your connections and influence to help the next generation of women in the professional theater.
9. Plan now for SWAN Day! Visit http://www.womenarts.org/swan/ for details.
10. Use your economic power to support women. Regardless of your income, you matter! Again and always, support women artists. See their shows. Exploit social networking to promote women’s work. Demonstrate thatprofessional theater women artists are a worthy investment. We live in a capitalistic society. The higher the demand, the greater the supply will become. Let’s show the industry that women are the single greatest hope for economic prosperity in the American Theater and beyond.
From: http://www.princeton.edu/arts/arts_at_princeton/theater/event/wit/pdf/Top-Ten-Things-To-Do-for-5050-in-2020.pdf
I can't have a polygamous relationship with theatre and anthropology while in a PhD program. Granted the privilege, I wouldn't waste the opportunity by having my plate full of anything other than the work at hand. So, the decision came down to whether I want to spend the next 7-10 years studying someone else's work or continue doing my own...
I can't stop now.
I won't.
No apologies.
While I'm happy to know I can always return to it ( it - being the academy). I think that the way anthropology informs my work is far more important than some letters after my name. In that sense I will always be a perpetual student.
The Manhattan Theatre Source Presents:
GIRLPOWER: VOICES OF A GENERATION
Created and Performed by the 2008-2009 GirlPower Performance Collective
Directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Elizabeth Koke
The New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC
A production of The Present Company
MON 8/17 at 7pm (Talkback 8:30-9:15), THUR 8/20 at 9:30pm , FRI 8/21 at 3:15pm,
SUN 8/23 at 5:00 pm, MON 8/24 at 5:00pm
Tickets: $15
For tickets and venue information visit www.FringeNYC.org
“We are the girls of the future. Listen to our cry. Listen to the things that make us mad, upset and happy. Don't take us for granted. Don't think that we don't understand the world. We are GirlPower! Walk away with the knowledge we give you. Walk away with our problems. Walk away with the solution. Walk away with the feeling of hope. Walk away with life. But mostly, walk away knowing you have Girl Power!”- Lauren Marie Curet, age 13, 2008-2009 GirlPower Collective Member
The Manhattan Theatre Source is proud to present GirlPower: Voices of a Generation as part of the 13th annual New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC. The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues.
Bold. Smart. Fresh. For teens, by teens. GirlPower: Voices of a Generation is an empowering, ensemble-driven collection of words written and performed by teenagers, struggling with issues they face growing up in today's world. Through monologues and spoken word, the young women share their perspectives on love, relationships, the future, creating social change and finding power through theatre. Audiences can expect to walk away with a renewed sense of their own empowerment, regardless of their age and gender. Not only does the cast of GirlPower discuss the problems plaguing their generation, but they present audiences with solutions and ideas for action that can start upon leaving the theatre.
The show features a diverse ensemble of teenage girls from the tri-state area and includes: Anastasia Zorin (Manhattan), Dominique Fishback (Brooklyn), Alexis Molnar (New Jersey), Lauren Curet (Queens), Michelle Lee (Bronx), Christina Perry (Manhattan), Andrea Panichi (New Jersey), Roni Laytin (Long Island), Candice Fernandez (New Jersey), Lyric Anderson (New Jersey), Alexa Winston (Manhattan), Amber Rhabb (Queens), Kezia Tyson (Queens), Alondra Diaz (Bronx) and Kaitlin Marie Hernandez (Brooklyn). It is directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Elizabeth Koke.
GirlPower: Voices of a Generation is part of the Manhattan Theatre Source’s five week long Estrogenius Festival. Shining the spotlight on women’s creativity, the Estrogenius Festival offers a dynamic line-up of performances theatre, dance, music, solo shows and visual art. Since its inception in 2000, The Estrogenius Festival has grown into a premier showcase for the diversity of women’s artistic voices, right in the center of the downtown New York theatre scene. 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the Estrogenius Festival. More information about GirlPower: Voices of a Generation and the Estrogenius Festival can be found on the Manhattan Theatre Source’s website http://www.theatresource.org/estro/.
July has been a busy month for me! Currently working on edits for "Decadent Acts" (see below), directing "GirlPower: Voices of a Generation" for the NYC Fringe Festival and getting ready for the Lincoln Center Directors Lab starting in a few short weeks. I'm also subletting a place in Williamsburg which I love and am hoping to stay permanently.
Enjoy some pictures from the first read through of "Decadent Acts" below...
Decadent Acts
Written by Ashley Marinaccio
Directed by Robert Gonyo
One Night Only
Monday, July 27th, 2009
7:00 pm
Schaeberle Studio @ Pace University
41 Park Row, 10th FloorManhattan(Across from City Hall Park)
$5 Suggested Donation
To reserve tickets, please e-mail cooptheatreeast@gmail.com
Better late than never...
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090619/FREE/906199975&template=printart
Off-Broadway as economic engine
By Miriam Kreinin Souccar
Published: June 19, 2009 - 2:30 pm
In an effort to grab some of the spotlight that usually shines on Broadway, a group of off-Broadway producers, theater owners, and other industry executives are releasing the first study of off-Broadway’s economic impact on New York City.
The report, released by the Off Broadway Alliance, found that shows produced in theaters with fewer than 500 seats bring more than $461 million in direct and indirect revenue to the Big Apple.
During the 2007/2008 season, 5.47 million tickets were sold at off-Broadway theaters worth a total of $173 million. The tallies included data from both commercial and non-profit off-Broadway productions.
The impact is small in comparison with the Great White Way, which contributes $5.1 billion to the economy. But the numbers show that off-Broadway is a greater economic force than a number of other local attractions. Off-Broadway productions were attended by 1.7 million more people than visited the Empire State Building, 1.2 million more than visited the Statue of Liberty, and 2 million more than Coney Island, according to the report.
“The figures released today reinforce what members of the Off-Broadway community have long suspected,” said Peter Breger, a theater attorney and chair of the Off-Broadway Alliance. “Off-Broadway’s economic enhancements to the city of New York are on par with, and in many cases they outdistance, those attractions generally perceived to be among New York’s top destinations for locals and tourists alike.”
Rethinking Gender Bias in Theater
When more than 160 playwrights and producers, most of them female, filed into a Midtown Manhattan theater Monday night, they expected to hear some concrete evidence that women who are authors have a tougher time getting their work staged than men.
And they did. But they also heard that women who are artistic directors and literary managers are the ones to blame.
That conclusion was just one surprising piece of a yearlong research project that both confirms and upends assumptions about bias in the playwriting business.
“There is discrimination against female playwrights in the theater community,” said Emily Glassberg Sands, who conducted the research. Still, she said, that isn’t the whole story; there is also a shortage of good scripts by women.
Ms. Sands, a Princeton economics student who is heading to Harvard this fall for graduate work, undertook the study, but eminent economists vouched for its high quality, including Christina H. Paxson, the chairwoman of Princeton’s economics department and the newly named dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; Cecilia Rouse, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; and Steven D. Levitt, the co-author of “Freakonomics.”
The detailed examination was done at the urging of the playwright Julia Jordan, who has been speaking out about the huge disparity between the number of shows by men that are produced and the number by women. (Ms. Jordan was a childhood friend of Mr. Levitt.)
To sort out the findings, it helps to look at the research. Ms. Sands conducted three separate studies. The first considered the playwrights themselves. Artistic directors of theater companies have maintained that no discrimination exists, rather that good scripts by women are in short supply. That claim elicited snorts and laughter from the audience when it was repeated Monday night, but Ms. Sands declared, “They’re right.”
In reviewing information on 20,000 playwrights in the Dramatists Guild and Doollee.com, an online database of playwrights, she found that there were twice as many male playwrights as female ones, and that the men tended to be more prolific, turning out more plays.
What’s more, Ms. Sands found, over all, the work of men and women is produced at the same rate. The artistic directors have a point: they do get many more scripts from men.
For the second study, Ms. Sands sent identical scripts to artistic directors and literary managers around the country. The only difference was that half named a man as the writer (for example, Michael Walker), while half named a woman (i.e., Mary Walker). It turned out that Mary’s scripts received significantly worse ratings in terms of quality, economic prospects and audience response than Michael’s. The biggest surprise? “These results are driven exclusively by the responses of female artistic directors and literary managers,” Ms. Sands said.
Amid the gasps from the audience, an incredulous voice called out, “Say that again?”
Ms. Sands put it another way: “Men rate men and women playwrights exactly the same.”
Ms. Sands was reluctant to explain the responses in terms of discrimination, suggesting instead that artistic directors who are women perhaps possess a greater awareness of the barriers female playwrights face.
For the third piece, Ms. Sands looked specifically at Broadway, where women write fewer than one in eight shows. She modeled her research on work done in the 1960s and ’70s to determine whether discrimination existed in baseball. Those studies concluded that black players had to deliver higher performing statistics — for example, better batting averages — than white players simply to make it to the major leagues.
Ms. Sands examined the 329 new plays and musicals produced on Broadway in the past 10 years to determine whether the bar was set higher. Did scripts by women have to be better than those by men?
Of course, there are many ways to define “better,” but on Broadway, with the exception of three nonprofit theaters, everyone can agree that one overriding goal is to make a profit. So did shows written by women during that period make more money than shows written by men?
The answer is yes. Plays and musicals by women sold 16 percent more tickets a week and were 18 percent more profitable over all. In the end, women had to deliver the equivalent of higher batting averages, Ms. Sands said.
Yet even though shows written by women earned more money, producers did not keep them running any longer than less profitable shows that were written by men. To Ms. Sands, the length of the run was clear evidence that producers discriminate against women.
The findings are sure to spur debates within the theater community. Representatives from about a dozen New York theater companies, including the Public Theater and Lincoln Center Theater, attended. Many women in the industry have argued that a rise in the number of female artistic directors would lead to more productions of works written by women, but the study calls that claim into question.
Ms. Sands also found plays that feature women — which are more commonly written by women — are also less likely to be produced. Kathryn Walat, a playwright who attended, said, “Most startling was the reaction to women writing — and I think of my own work — about female protagonists and the unlikability of those characters.”
As for Ms. Jordan, she said, “I suspected it wasn’t pure discrimination, but I was surprised that women were driving it.” Whether the sex of Broadway producers is a factor is unclear, she said: “One thing I have learned is not to make those assumptions anymore.”
Professor Paxson, who helped to supervise Ms. Sands’s research, wrote in an e-mail response: “Each study uses different data and the best available research methods to investigate whether there is good evidence for gender discrimination in the playwriting business.”
Ms. Rouse said that the findings should “make even skeptics take note.”
Ms. Sands acknowledged shortcomings in her work as well as many unanswered questions. Most problematic, she said, was the use of Doollee.com as a database. Because the site depends on users, some information may be incomplete, outdated or incorrect.
Still, at the end of the evening, Ms. Sands, who seemed surprisingly comfortable on the stage for an aspiring economist, received the kind of reaction that many playwrights in the audience would wish for: prolonged applause.
Am I an artist who does anthropology or an anthropologist who does art?
Because "I like them both", "'Cause I feel like it" and "How is it any of your business if I had 14 liberal arts/humanities majors in undergrad?" are no longer valid answers (and most definitely won't be on my PhD applications), today I will finally attempt to tackle my personal relationship with anthropology and theatre, and the relationship that they have to each other in my twisted Utopian head...
Throughout undergrad and graduate school, I struggled with the fact that according to various experts in the field(s), I was too "anthropology" for theatre and/or too "theatre” for anthropology. Boiled down, what they were attempting to say is they don’ t believe I’m “commercial” enough for many theatrical projects, and I'm too "mainstream" to appeal to many academic audiences.
Like theatre, it is the art of storytelling that draws me to anthropology, and makes me want to pursue higher education in the field. I want to tell stories. I want to read other’s stories, learn about other people’s stories. I want to create my own story.
I refuse to list here the many benefits of a degree in anthropology because it's obvious and easy to see this relationship from an artist’s perspective. After all, having extensive knowledge in anything outside the craft potentially can inform my work. I could also list the benefits of a background in the performing/visual arts for an anthropologist, but once again, there are plenty of articles and websites that already do that, and it seems that also would be a waste of time.
On the most elementary level theatre is about becoming the "other" and/or telling the “other’s” story, whereas anthropology is about studying the "other" and/or telling the “other’s story” (yes, “other” is a problematic term, I know…) but through that lens, the lines between "us" and "them" blurr and eventually disappear. Engaging in the arts also helps us gain a better understanding of our own culture and identity. My involvement in academia, community organizing and activism has led me to question how information, personal agency and awareness of my own community’s struggles are being transmitted to the broader society which may not be as familiar with these issues. Where can an evangelical Christian housewife and transgender street performer find a common connection? Through what methods can we seek discourse between a Palestinian farmer and Israeli school teacher? Through theatre. Theatre is an imperative starting point for new dialogue and giving us hope. This is what theatre and the arts potentially can do.
The things that make me reconsider academia are as follows: I have no desire to be - a pretentious egghead, someone who is so out of touch with the world that they can’t communicate beyond the ivory towers. While there is nothing wrong with this, it’s not me. It never will be. I refuse to lose sight of reality or how what I’m studying can positively affect the real world. Nor do I want to spend the rest of my life in a library regurgitating other people’s theories. I’m not particularly interested in academic publishing as I am in writing for the general public. In fact, every time the anthropology news magazine comes in the mail, it makes me a little sad to know that the amazing information inside will only be seen by people in the field. I definitely think I could do something to change that.
Why I do want to get a PhD:
I don’t know if these are good enough reasons for wanting to pursue a PhD, I guess in a few months that will be determined. I’m a little frazzled over finding time to take the GRE with all my other projects happening (which, to clarify, I didn’t need to take for my Master’s at NYU because I was in Tisch and they’re too progressive for standardized tests). I once had a professor tell me that PhD’s were for people who can’t sing and dance. I think about this comment often, and while I agree (especially in the context of what we were discussing at the moment) I hope to be the exception to the rule, without sacrificing one for the other.
Labels: anthropology, life, theatre