Identity Matters. All. The. Time. Questions to Encourage Best Practices in Applied Theatre

Abstract

As applied theatre practitioners we have the opportunity to foster work and dialogues as the demand and responsibility to talk about race is heightened in the U.S. Our decades of experience support that identity is always at play and must be addressed in our theatre work otherwise we are doing a disservice to the art and community. We feel the responsibility to be conscious of identity and intentional with it in order to make theatre that is accessible to all. We have found highlighting identity is an essential tool to create, engage, and practice skills in the dialogues we strive to inspire and in opportunities for transformation and growth. It connects us to probe “what ethical questions should artists and educators consider when navigating social justice and anti-racist topics?” Over our two plus decades of working together and creating, performing, and facilitating interactive theatre performances on social justice and anti-racists topics, our experience has brought us to learn, time and time again, that identity and its impact matter.