Retrospective is an important aspect of healing although it’s always troubling—to revisit the past trying to understand the present and the future.
With this in mind, I have found one fact to be true: the art of live performance and theatre is now a luxury.
Art is the rare and beautiful combination of political discourse and therapy. It forces us to ask the most difficult questions and search for the deepest answers.
As artists, our highest goal is open communication and analysis of our current situation, whether it be political, social or personal. And, as artists, we have the ability to connect across differences through empathy especially through this ethereal communion known as theatre.
And that is why I love theatre. I hate saying it, but I love it.
I hate saying it, because sometimes it feels like I’m saying, “I love whiteness.”
I don’t know what theatre looks like when it's free from this toxic embrace of white supremacy and capitalism. The three bodies have intertwined for so long that I’m not sure I’ve learned what this pure theatre looks like. I’ve definitely had glimpses of it, but not yet an understanding of what freedom inside this art form feels like.
And, amidst all this wondering, searching, feeling, and not-feeling, we are faced with a moment of conscious action and choice.
And this moment is post-verbal.
It is not enough to simply say that “We stand in solidarity.”
It is not enough to simply say that “Black lives matter.”
It is not enough to simply say that “We need to be better.”
Empty gestures, useless hashtags, and recycled information don’t matter anymore.
If you have power, institutionally or socially, it is your responsibility to empower Black people and those oppressed under the systems that have benefitted you previously.
And, for our Black friends and loved ones, we must realize that Black and Brown artists deserve money in their pockets.
As for The Forum Collective, we invite others to share and create with us. Within a world that feels separated, we know that connectivity—at any level possible—is valuable and necessary.
However, when invited into our space…
We will only accept actions that do support Black or Brown businesses or economic potential;
We will only accept discussion free of harmful stereotypes or stigmatized language; and
We will not accept the unwillingness to learn about unfamiliar racial, sexual, economic and social groups or the systems and philosophies that threaten them.
It’s odd to verbalize out these very basic and necessary principles. Still, performance artists, like theatre makers and dancers, are trained to accept the words of our directors, our producers, and our audiences without protection—financial or emotional.
Unfortunately, the show will not go on under the previous systems with this perpetual attitude. And it’s as simple as that.
This is a new world.
And it’s time to welcome it boldly.
Julius Rea