If mimesis is an imitation of nature, in the creation of community art
do we risk casting those we work with into molds of debilitation? Confining/forcing
them to their 'natural' state of victim. This presentation will explore
my own experiences reifying victimhood in creating theatre with "oppressed
peoples,” querying the reduction of peoples to person to protagonist to
stories. Building a theatre piece with survivors of torture, I consistently
experienced resistance to 'tell their stories,' a reluctance to present
their lived experiences past, present, or future upon the stage. In contrast,
creating a performance with a group of South African youth I encountered
a yearning to tell both their stories, and their people’s story. With each
I sought to frame tragedy in relation to triumph, presenting their lives
within an aesthetics of liberation, inviting audiences to partake in a
celebration. But what is served at such celebrations? The suffering 'other'
engaged in struggle- an eagerly consumed story for audiences fattened on
the trope of empowerment. This presentation seeks to problematize such
limiting (debilitating) representations of alterity, and quests for alternatives.
05/25: 1115