The following work samples were developed in Fall ’18 in American Theatre II with Professor Joe Salvatore.
It has not been easy for me to filter my ideas on what I’d like to focus on for my final project. There are many issues that I would like to explore within contemporary playwrights of color. Two essential questions come to my mind: 1) What systems have been in place that has helped silence the voices of playwrights of color? 2) How do I help build a network of informed arts collaborators across the country to help further the mission to amplify the marginalized voices of playwrights of color? By themselves, they may seem a bit broad, but when I tie in the queer lens through which I see the world, my questions come into focus. I am fascinated with intersectionality, and at what times do I rely on my experience of being Black or when do I rely on my expertise being queer to allow me to enter into a work of art. Professor Salvatore read to us, during our exploration of George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum, Mr. Wolfe’s explanation of how his experience of being Black allowed him to enter more empathetically into his role as a director on Tony Kushner’s Angels in America and not his experience being gay in America.
At first, this may seem strange, but I can’t help but identify with Mr.Wolfe here. When a person experiences multiple forms of oppression by being a member of more than one marginalized group, then that person has a wealth of relatable experience. Additionally, I will never know what it is like to be a non-POC identified queer person, so to draw a direct correlation to that experience could be detrimental and deducing the knowledge of non-POC identified queer people. In considering a more holistic approach to the intersectionality of artists of color, I wanted to delve further into the psyche of a queer POC artist, Brian Freeman, one of the founding members of Post Modern African American Homosexuals (POMO AFRO HOMOS). To aid in my research, I conducted a 45-minute interview with Mr. Freeman by phone in the Fall of 2018. Unfortunately, I do not have the transcript from that conversation, but suffice to say it was enlightening.
Also, I created a web page as part of that class looking at the works and contributions of Pomo Afro Homos to the theatre canon that is as an additional artifact: