Pedigree

An exploration of artistic defiance against social inequality, Pedigree is an award winning short solo piece about one’s journey of recovery from the inexplicit influences of racial hatred and violence plaguing their mentality and livelihood. This show explores the lengths in which one declares to take back their power after years of mental and emotional torment at the hands of societal tormentors from her past to the present.  

In the wake of the revitalization of the Black Lives Matter Movement, this applied theatre work is relevant to our Black community in providing insight to a cathartic resolution and engaging in civil dialogue.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Conceptualized in Summer 2020 and filmed Summer 2021, I deem the creation of Pedigree an example of the pedagogical practice ‘Activist Theatre’. This work highlights my personalized artistic concept of “performative resistance through narrative”. I adapted Augusto Boal’s Image Theatre model and developed a movement-based process where my own personal experiences of racial disparity and oppression were the focus of the work. What has been particularly striking about developing this piece, and indeed the BLM movement as a whole, has been its creation through, and subsequent dependence upon, social media. That so many people were able to “witness” multiple stories/experiences of these disparities raise awareness and troubling questions regarding private acts vs. public sharing, reception vs perception, as well as more obvious racial power dynamics.

I challenged myself to create a piece that presented alternative/shifted imagery that highlighted the struggle that black and brown bodies endured and, most importantly, depictions of redemption and strength. In developing this piece, I found myself discovering moments of personal catharsis and release but also still lamenting because of the continued displays of groundless mass incarnations, mistreatment, disrespect, and, at times, misinformed/distorted narratives of black/brown bodies present on my social media streams and forums. Beyond the black-and-white headlines, posts, and hashtags in front of me on a daily basis, physically and mentally, writing and performing 'Pedigree' was my own personal acceptance and resistance story. While this isn't therapy, this reflective process is therapeutic and a form of creative wellness. There is a healing power to displaying these stories on a presentational scale, almost like a "call and response" between the mind and body, culminating in a unified performance that is entertaining and enlightening for the artists and spectators.

I seek to enlighten "spect-actors" about strategies civil and aesthetic/ therapeutic strategies in addressing the mental strain of balancing everyday life against the myriad of racial equality and social injustice issues constantly broadcasted through our social media streams and personal conversations. 

Methodological Approach(es): Image Theatre, Theatre for the Oppressed (Cop-in Head), Solo Performance, Narrative-based Storytelling

PERFORMANCES/SCREENINGS

Each performance had community outreach elements including a talkback discussion about the narrative-based solo performance and the artistic process of developing and performing Pedigree.

• Rapport Festival, Black Film Festival (London, United Kingdom), adjudicated
• Love Peace and Freedom Film Festival (San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico), adjudicated 
• International Black & Diversity Film Festival, IBDFF (Toronto, CN), adjudicated 
• Under Our Skin Festival: Int’l Festival on Human Rights (Kenya, Africa), adjudicated 
• Africa International Human Rights Film Festival (Lagos, Nigeria), adjudicated 
• Minority Film Festival (New York, NY), adjudicated 
  • Winner for Best Actress
• San Diego Independent Filmmaker’s Festival (San Diego, CA), adjudicated 
• Freedom Festival International (Columbia, SC), adjudicated  
• United We Heal Film Festival, adjudicated 
• 2024 Virginia Black Film Festival, adjudicated
• 2024 OHC Criminal Justice Short Film Fest,  adjudicated 
• 2023 Activists Without Borders Film Festival, adjudicated
• 2023 Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film, adjudicated
• Micheaux Film Festival 2023, adjudicated
• 2023 DMV International Film Festival, adjudicated
• 2023 Seven Cities Showcase of Hampton Roads, adjudicated
  • Winner for Best Actress
• Monarch Short-Film Festival
  • Winner for Best Alumni Short-Film
• 11th International Social Change Film Festival (a.k.a 'ChangeFest')
  • Winner for Best Woman Director
• 30th Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media (MCLLM)
• 2022 Global Conference on Women and Gender, Christopher Newport University
• 53rd Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA)
• 12th Annual African, African American, & Diaspora Studies (AAAD) Conference
• ODU Black History Month 2022
• 20th Annual Asheville Fringe Festival
• 27th ‘James River Short Film Festival’
• Top 4 finalist in nationally acclaimed ‘2021 The Breath Project Festival’
• 2021 Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)