My Work in Print
publications
work in print
Into Abolitionist Theatre
A Guidebook for Liberatory Theatre-making
THE TAKER'S TOWER WILL FALL: EPIC LESSONS IN CO-CREATION
by: MG Green and Alyssa Vera Ramos
This chapter reckons with the successes and failures that the authors encountered working within creative leadership teams throughout the lifespan of Epic Tales from the Land of Melanin, a participatory Theatre for Young Audiences play which they co-wrote with a handful of other “self-identified femmes of color.” In Epic Tales, three young bodies people of culture experiencing devaluation, discrimination, and displacement in their lives in the U.S. dream themselves into a magical land. Now our heroes, the team embarks on an adventure to stop the violence happening to their people. Next, using Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad and Tema Okun’s article White Supremacy Culture: Still Here, the authors examine narrative examples of the moments where their behavior harmfully diverged from their justice values. Finally, they offer concrete learnings for moving forward with a more aligned abolitionist ethic, as leaders, theatre practitioners, and humans.
Ensemble-Made Chicago
A Guide to Devised Theater
WORK FEATURED:
FEMELANIN: BODY IMAGE PERFORMANCE // NEW CHOICE
Ensemble-Made Chicago brings together a wide range of Chicago theater companies to share strategies for cocreating performance. Cocreated theater breaks down the traditional roles of writer, director, and performer in favor of a more egalitarian approach in which all participants contribute to the creation of original material. Each chapter offers a short history of a Chicago company, followed by detailed exercises that have been developed and used by that company to build ensemble and generate performances. Companies included range in age from two to fifty years, represent different Chicago neighborhoods, and reflect both the storefront tradition and established cultural institutions. The book pays special attention to the ways the fight for social justice has shaped the development of this aesthetic in Chicago.
Assembled from interviews and firsthand observations, Ensemble-Made Chicago is written in a lively and accessible style and will serve as an invaluable guide for students and practitioners alike, as well as an important archive of Chicago's vibrant ensemble traditions. Readers will find new creative methods to enrich their own practice and push their work in new directions.