HowlRound Theatre Commons: We need safer theatrical spaces and more actor agency. If theatre is to remain a tool for expression, one that moves with us and our descendants into the next century, it must amplify historically disenfranchised voices, and it must not create further harm. This is true for educational, rehearsal, and performance spaces.
1 comment:
During my high school years, I took a class called IB Theatre where we learned about many different theatrical techniques, one of them being Commedia. We specifically had a Commedia workshop one day and much like this article points out I found us not focusing on the inequalities that are already built-into the structure of Commedia but just going along with it and not questioning it in our work of today. I enjoyed learning about Commedia because it is a great skill to have especially if an artist is looking to work on improvisation, expanded play, comic timing, etc much like outlined in this article. But what I think we often forget to do when learning about an older theatrical technique is to create, much like the article says, a home within the space. I wonder if in the Mr. Burns rehearsal room they are doing this, because I know they are using Commedia masks to help them portray the character’s motives in Act 3. Overall, these different techniques have shaped the history of theatre and we continue to use them daily, but I wonder if we should start thinking about how they might harm us in the moment before we start using them explicitly in a rehearsal room.
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