In Ntozake Shange’s celebrated feminist choreopoem, through Dec. 8 at the Public, seven women of color, named after and dressed in different hues of the rainbow, explore trauma and resilience through movement and text.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
My ‘Face Is My Voice’: A Deaf Dancer Lands Her Dream Role
In Ntozake Shange’s celebrated feminist choreopoem, through Dec. 8 at the Public, seven women of color, named after and dressed in different hues of the rainbow, explore trauma and resilience through movement and text.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
So happy for Alexandria. I hope she can become a model for all performers of color and disabled performers all around. It is so important to include non-able bodied people within the theatrical industry, because they deserve to be able to perform. This will show children who are not necessarily able bodied that just because of a disability, this does not mean you aren't meant to be an actor, or a dancer, and you can be just as successful as any able bodied performer.
This specific performance Alexandria is in sounds super cool It includes all women of color, exploring topics of strength and hardship directed towards girls of color who have experienced difficult times in their life. I think this dance piece will be telling the audience lots of important messages regarding being a WoC. Intersectionality in so important, and I think this dance piece will be embracing the concept exceptionally.
We read "For Colored Girls...." in Playwriting this year and I did quite a bit of research into this production, and they did such an incredible job with it. I think what the public did with this choreopoem really added a lot of depth to this story. I think that the casting was a large part of this. This show is so largely a movement piece that the integration of ASL into this production sounds like it would be so effective and beautiful. Similarly to the article about Mockingbird last week, this makes me so happy. I really love that these articles tend to be more about individual people being cast, rather than the issue of inclusive casting as a whole, because that's what's really important: how this affects individual people and their livelihoods. I'm really glad that this happened for Alexandria and I hope that it inspires other dancers and actors to audition for parts they don't feel confident that they'll get.
I love this story. The way that Alexandria able to combine two different, but similar languages into a beautiful art is amazing. I have always been fascinated in different languages and the differences and similarities between them. The story of how Alexandria found dance as a young girl soon after becoming deaf made me smile. It's also interesting that because Alexandria is half black with a lighter complexion, she "passes" as it was put in the article. I found it interesting the fact that she acknowledges that there is a privilege there, but she constantly deals with the internal conflict that she is black and she's proud to be so. Alexandria is a role model to people of color as well as people with disabilities. She has shown that no matter what color your skin is or whether or not you have a disability, you can pursue any passion or dream your heart desires.
This is such an inspirational story for so many people. Alexandria's experience with this piece shows the world of theater that a disability doesn't discredit a person from participating in live performance, which I have even seen as a prejudice in small community theater productions in my small town. It always surprises me when people make judgements about the limitations of other people and allow that prejudice to exclude someone from a small local show. That rant aside, I really wish there was a video attached because the way they are describing her techniques in this piece seem almost magical. As a nonverbal form of communication, dance has always fascinated me and I think that that piece of this art form really came alive in this production. And while all of this is really impressive to read about, I think the even more important thing that is coming forward as more and more people with disabilities are given their chance in the spotlight is that we are talking about it and giving credit where the credit is due. I feel like I write about this all the time, but I think it is important to bring up yet again that giving people a chance is the easiest way to normalize minority groups participating in theater.
Alexandria is such an inspiration! In all honesty, and this is hard to admit, it's hard for me to comprehend how people with disabilities are able to do things so deeply rooted in what they "cannot" experience. For example, blind people watch movies. It is most definitely something they can do! But I didn't know that until a few years ago. Deaf people listen to music and can sing (like that woman who was on AGT a few years back). Again, these are normal experiences for everyone; people with disabilities may just experience them in a different way. But as someone who is lucky enough not to have a disability, I find myself being very ignorant about these things. Alexandria's experience has educated me in the ways that deaf people experience dancing! I found it so fascinating how she was able to break the barriers between two languages and how signing has a beat/rhythm to it that she could match with the rhythm of the writing. I really hope that her incredible hard work and success can inspire young people who may be minorities in a way similar to her to pursue their dreams!
Post a Comment