Type Casting: Defining type casting as depicted in the theatre industry with particular reference to Laurence O'Keefe's

'Heathers' and Catherine Trieschmann’s ‘Crooked’.​ 

DISSERTATION

Nicole Brady

University of Cumbria
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

ABSTRACT 3

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 4

CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY 6

CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW 8

What is 'type casting' and how does it affect performers?

In which ways are performers 'body shamed'?

Is it acceptable for reviewers to comment on a performers appearance?

Laurence O'Keefe's 'Heathers' and Catherine Trieschmann's 'Crooked'

What is Equity?

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS, ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION 11

REFERENCES CITED 13
 ABSTRACT​ ​(360 words)

Theatre is often an open platform for performer's to be criticized, judged and demeaned for the way they look; their appearance and
body. This is commonly referred to as 'body shaming' or in theatre terms, 'type casting'. My dissertation aims to draw upon, and
elaborate on the research already configurated around my question, 'Type Casting: Defining type casting as depicted in the theatre
industry' not only in contemporary American and British theatre, but in the performing arts industry as a whole, including but not
limited to actors, singers and dancers.

Due to the nature of my topic, the main body of my research has been taken from online sources, mainly 'The Stage' which is the
official newspaper for the theatre industry worldwide. (The Stage, 2019) I have used a great deal of written interviews with
performers who have experienced this first hand, and also newspaper articles in which critics have openly body shamed or type-cast
performers. I also looked into polls conducted to get a rough estimate of how many performers have been affected by the nature of
this topic, professionally or in some aspect or the other.

I attempt to identify through my research why body shaming and type-casting is still an ever growing issue, and how in recent years,
with the amelioration of technology and the power of the internet, it has gotten worse - providing so many outlets for not just critics,
but the public to express their opinion on a performer. I will be focusing mainly on Carrie Hope Fletcher who starred in Laurence
O'Keefe's 'Heathers' (Knight, 2018) and Debbie Chazen who starred in Catherine Trieschmann’s ‘Crooked’ (Chazen, 2017) as both
actresses spoke out about the criticism they received for being cast in the leading roles.

But most importantly, my dissertation aims to demonstrates how despite, in an era which supports diversity and acceptance of
things which would have been discriminated against not even two decades ago, why there is still such a negative attitude and
stereotype towards a performer's appearance, and why speaking up and calling out these critics will hopefully change the theatre
industries acceptance to diversity and bring about a more positive attitude. (Bodyshaming.org 2012).

INTRODUCTION​ ​(900 words)

The research for my dissertation was inspired by issues within the theatre industry which, although addressed, do not seem to be
improving or changing. The question which underpins my dissertation, 'Type Casting: Defining type casting as depicted in the
theatre industry with particular reference to Laurence O'Keefe's 'Heathers' and Catherine Trieschmann’s ‘Crooked’ is a subject
which I, personally feel very strongly about. The passion for this subject came about during one of my lessons in University when a
fellow student brought up the issue of 'type casting' and their personal experience with being subjected to it. I had never heard of
this before, and thus, when the topic started and my peers opened up about their own personal struggles with body shaming and
type casting, I immediately felt inspired to learn and research more into it. It brought about the question, 'why judge someone based
solely on their appearance?'. It is a question I have pondered on since. What does the size of a performers body have to do with
talent? What does a performers appearance have to do with being classed as 'attractive'? And why, when a casting director decides
to choose a performer larger than the average size, do critics feel the need to shame, criticize and demean them? It is subject to
opinion. To personal preference. So why is this issue so common?

My curiosity to understand how such disparate issues could affect me so deeply, while also affecting the view I have of myself and
the industry in which I want to be part of, led me to explore this rather intangible question further.

It is not uncommon to find that the most passionate of academic works come from something the writer has a true understanding of,
connects with and feels very strongly about, and thus, not only allows them to draw upon existing knowledge and research, but from
an immediate, first-hand experience. There is academic and theoretical viewpoints based on the issues of 'type casting' and 'body
shaming', but it is based on one's own observations, teachings and personal preference as to what we can deem 'attractive' or 'the
ideal lead', and whether we can sympathise with those cast out of the limelight due to not being the right person in the casting
directors eyes, or agree with their choice to satisfy critics.

The aim and purpose of my research is to draw light upon the issues many performers in the theatre face today, and have done for
years. Type casting and body shaming has caused an uproar over the years, with many performers making themselves ill physically
and mentally to achieve the 'ideal body' or the 'ideal appearance' to be cast in leading roles. Many performers have spoken out
about their personal experiences and how such struggles to maintain an image in this industry has caused them to get incredibly ill
trying to obtain these unrealistic standards, because if you are not 'thin, beautiful and talented', you are simply 'the best friend, the
parent kind of roles.' Even in drama schools, many aspiring performers are 'weighed, stripped and told to lose weight' before they
even get the chance to audition. I aim to highlight how casting directors and critics still do such things and with the rise of social
media and the internet, the issues only seem to be getting worse.

Through my research, I came up with very important questions to answer throughout my dissertation and literature review. First, I
discuss what type casting is, and the key mechanism through which the ‘somatic norm’ is established in the theatre industry. This
first expands on information from those already in the industry and how a performers appearance can somatically restrict them to
the largely socially accepted roles – demonstrating how performers will reluctantly accept the terms of their ‘type’ in order to
succeed. Secondly, I focus on body shaming and how performers are subjected and pressured by the industry and casting agents to
lose weight and have the ideal figure which is deemed attractive. Thirdly, I discuss reviews made by critics and the experience some
performers have had with offensive and discriminatory comments. Is it acceptable for a performer to be judged based solely on
appearance and not performance? I will particularly reference to Laurence O’Keefe’s ‘Heathers’ and Catherine Trieschmann’s
‘Crooked’ as both have faced criticism and experienced these issues. And lastly, I come to an end with Equity, and how many
performers (professional and upcoming) have been subjected to
exploitment of any kind in the theatre industry already, body shaming or type casting.

There was such an expanse amount of research already surrounding my question that it was difficult to narrow it down to just a few
questions. It doesn't just occur in the theatre industry, but to models, actors/actresses in television series and films, in Hollywood, to
upcoming performers. It is a common issue which targets everyone, even on social media platforms in which the commenter's are
known as 'trolls'. My only real limitation when I finalised my literature review structure was how to accurately prove this point, or
explain how many people were affected, because in reality there isn't any real way to pinpoint just how many people are affected.

Keywords: performers, type casting, body shaming, reviews by critics, stereotypes.

 ​METHODOLOGY​ ​(846 words)

My research commenced with qualitative analysis of secondary sources related to my question, 'Type Casting: Defining type
casting as depicted in the theatre industry'. Not limiting myself entirely to contemporary American and British theatre, I branched into
the performing arts industry as a whole, including, but not limited to actors, singers and dancers. The key issues which arise from
the sources based around my question and which are analysed and compared further in my dissertation include: What is type
casting? How does type casting affect performers? Is type casting a form of body shaming? Why are performers shamed on their
appearance? It is acceptable for reviewers to comment on a performers body and appearance? Should critics ever review a
performers body over their talent and performance? Performers address body shaming and type casting. Performers are stripped,
weighed and told to lose weight at drama school auditions. Carrie Hope Fletcher, starring as lead role in 'Heathers' the musical
addresses bullies, critics and those who felt the need to comment on her body and appearance. Debbie Chazen speaks out about
fat-shaming critics. Equity's Safe Space Campaign which supports performers dealing with critics and negative comments. What is
Equity? How does Equity play an important factor in supporting performers? What is the Stage? How does 'The Stage' official
theatre newspaper address negativity towards performers? How many performers have felt exploited at a casting?

When I was using search terms in electronic database searches, I was cautious to include a wide array of questions so as to include
a wider picture based around my question, not just a narrow opinion. I included questions about not just about performers in theatre
shows i.e Broadway, West-End, Off-Broadway, etc, but actors/actresses in big-budget films in Hollywood, worldwide known TV
shows, and those starting out in the theatre industry (recent graduates, auditionees and theatre school goers.) My initial search
terms included - Performers criticised over their weight? Actors who were told to lose weight? Performers who have spoken up
about being body-shamed? What is type casting? Why are performers type cast? Is type casting based on the size of a performer,
or on their appearance? Actors who were told they were to ugly to perform? What is fat-shaming in the theatre industry? Drama
schools reportedly weight auditionees? Do dance schools have strict fitness and eating regimes students must follow? Dance
students shamed for not losing weight? Carrie Hope Fletcher criticised over weight? Critics on Carrie Hope Fletcher in Heathers the
Musical? Carrie Hope Fletcher criticised over being 'butch Eponine' in Les Miserables? Did Debbie Chazen speak out about critics?
Debbie Chazen body shamed in Crooked? Does Equity support performers who have been exploited or insulted? Do some theatre
schools really weight people auditioning? Are critics considered bullies? Do people agree with critics reviewing a performer on their
appearance? Does appearance really matter more than talent? What are casting directors opinions on body shaming and type
casting? Do casting directors really type cast?

Research involving such a broad spectrum of questions needed to allow new insights and evaluations, thus, my method of applying
qualitative analysis to secondary sources is justified because there is too much expansive knowledge and topics surrounding just
the question 'type casting'. Instead, I drew out themes which were already synthesised with the question and narrowed it from a
large perspective to a smaller amount, specifically linking it with theatre industry and how 'type casting' was related to 'body
shaming'. From there I knew the most strategic idea would be to focus on, highlight and pay particular attention to ​two actresses
Carrie Hope Fletcher and Debbie Chazen who had both been targeted for their leading role in two very highly-rated and well known
shows. After conducting all of my research, key points and structure, I finalised the question which underpins my dissertation: ​'Type
Casting: Defining type casting as depicted in the theatre industry with particular reference to Laurence O'Keefe's 'Heathers' and
Catherine Trieschmann's 'Crooked'.'
All of the research I have used is not meant to suggest that this is the only casual factor which surrounds the question of type
casting, since there is still many other reasons why performers are discriminated against, body shamed and criticised over their
appearance. So rather, by limiting the expansive knowledge around the question, I have drawn upon the things I felt were most
important to highlight. This is not to say that hypotheses can't still be developed and further research undertook to enable an insight
into the topic and whether it will ever change and to delve into further issues. Rather, my research and the subheadings I choose to
focus on have been used thoughtfully to answer the overall question my dissertation focuses on, and plans to get to the root of the
issue without going of topic, or branching to far from the central point.

To protect academic integrity, my sources were considered carefully to ensure an accurate attribution and were referenced to
protect against unintended plagiarism. I have cited every source I have taken note of, or were I have taken my research from.

LITERATURE REVIEW​ (2000 words)

What is ‘Type Casting’ and how does it affect performers?

Charney (2012) described ‘type casting’ as ‘assigning an actor or actress repeatedly to the same type of role as a result of
the appropriateness of their appearance or previous success in such roles.’ Robert Epstein (2011) explains, ‘casting directors
become accustomed to seeing you a certain way’ and if ‘you have the natural characteristics of a certain kind of character, you may
be cast for this type consistently’. He continues, ‘type casting is a convenience for producers’ as they will know if ‘an actor has the
right look.’

Rebecca Trehearn (27 March, cited in Hemley, 2018) expresses how female performers who are typically cast in leading roles are
‘attractive’ and have ‘a stereotypical figure, and generally speaking, it’s thin.’ She continues, ‘certain shows want you to look a
certain way, to have the right look, or to be the right size’ as this ‘will help them succeed in their career.’ Hemley (2015) agrees by
saying, ‘stereotypes are still widely accepted,’ and ‘woman are subjectively cast on their attractiveness’.

Bieterman (2016) also expresses her views on the matter, by outlining that ‘unless a role is specifically, explicitly intended for a plus
size actress’ the leading roles ‘are lithe and lean and have the Broadway Leading Lady body.’ She continues, ‘casting has arbitrarily
defined the default [leading lady] as thin’ but argues, ‘did it ever say in the description... of most musical theatre ladies, that they
couldn’t be a size 14? It has never been depicted that they [performer] need to be of a certain size or image to be deemed attractive.
Whether casting directors are aware of their biases or not.’ 

However, Bykowski (2018) disagrees, explaining how casting directors proclaimed ‘this just how the industry works, these are the
rules’ and unless you fit into the mold, ‘type casting will make or break your career’.

In what ways are performers ‘Body Shamed’?

When theatre producer Tom Harrop took to social media to express his concerns on a ‘student who auditioned for a
“well-known college in London” and was told they were overweight’ there was a large response from performers who had been
subjected to this or something similar. He explains how he witnessed ‘at a drama school audition’ auditionees being ‘made to strip to
their underwear and weighed’. (​Hemley, 2018).
With Harrop and other performers speaking out about these issues, it started a motion. Street (2017) explains that ‘actors being
stripped and weighed at auditions and being told they are “too fat” for roles has prompted calls for an end to so-called body shaming
in theatre.’ Also referring to the post made by Harrop in his article, “actors report being stripped, weighed and told to lose weight at
auditions” published on The Stage, Hemley (2018) agreed that he was aware of performers who were ‘pressured to be skinny in
order to secure parts’ with casting director Guild also voicing how ‘weighing drama students for an audition is unacceptable’.

Oliver award-winning actress Rebecca Trehearn also commented in response how her agent ‘recommended she lose at least a
stone and a half’ to be considered for leading roles. She also recalls hearing other performers voice being ‘weighed, measured and
pressured to lose weight’ after being cast in shows. ‘Weighing and measuring people is so inappropriate’, ‘it is humiliating… and
potentially a dangerous thing’, she concludes. (Cook, 2018).

However, Harrop later deleted his post from social media as he was ‘satisfied it had triggered the correct conversations, with the
right bodies, to deal with this issue.’ (Cook, 2018)

Yet it is not just female performers subjected to such humiliation, as argued by Marlowe (2015) who explains he was body shamed
by a critic in the Times newspaper and described as ‘charming, hirsute and pot-bellied’. He continues, ‘given that I am a straight,
white middle-class man, somebody commenting on my appearance is very different.’ Tripney (2018) agreed, making a comment
expressing how ‘society tells us women’s bodies are fair game for scrutiny in a way that men simply are not.’ Charlie Hodges (23
January, cited in Stahl, 2018) a dancer and performer is another who was targeted, voicing how ‘he auditioned for 14 ballet
companies, and all 14 said no’ and in his rejection letter they wrote, ‘we regret to inform you that we have absolutely no use for a
body like yours in our company.’ 

Street (2017) also describes how a friend of hers received ‘constant comments about being “too thin”, “like you have Aids”’ and how
he had been told numerous times he was to ‘quirky’ to play leading roles.  

Is it acceptable for reviewers to comment on a performers appearance?

“Is it ever appropriate for a critic to comment on an actor’s body image in a review?” asked The Stage in a poll released in
2017, (Masso, 2017) the same day Mark Shenton shared his opinion ‘Is body-shaming ever appropriate in reviews?’ on their site.
(Shenton, 2017) The figures on the poll concluded how 61.86% of The Stage members said ‘no’ it was not acceptable, and 38.14%
said ‘yes’ it was acceptable.  (Masso, 2017) 

Tripney (2018) explains how ‘a number of actors have recently called out reviewers for commenting on their bodies rather than their
performances’ and conducted research of her own to analyze ‘the line between reviewing and body shaming.’ She voices how
performers are ‘forever being judged and categorized as too thin or too big. The smaller body is celebrated and venerated in the way
other bodies are not.’ Nicola Coughlan (17 June, cited in Levine, 2018) also expressed how a critic, rather than review her
performance, made rude remarks about her appearance by describing her ‘as an overweight girl’ and ‘a fat girl’ without even
mentioning her performance. 

Bykowski (2018) is another performer who brought light to the experiences she had while still a student. She explains how ‘they
[students] stood in front of their classmates – their body put on display’ before continuing that ‘the professor dictated the student’s
“type”’ and how most of her classmates weren’t what the program deemed as ‘petite’ or ‘runway model’ or how their ‘type was the
“best friend”, “sidekick” or “character actor”, never the ingénue. Never the lead.' 
 
Weiss (2017), a reviewer for the Chicago Sun Times came under fire for her remarks about a performers body image in the revival
of Mamma Mia. She wrote ‘character-defining costumes make the most of many “real woman” figures on stage, just as the gold and
silver spandex outfits outline the perfect bodies of the terrific chorus dancers.’ Onstage blogger Peterson (2017) claims she [Weiss]
‘was met with harsh backlash and accusations of body shaming’ and yet ‘didn't apologize for her comments.’ Collins-Hughes (2016)
also made a similar comment when reviewing Smokey Joe’s Café in the New York Times. She said, ‘Ms. Umphress, by the way, is
bigger than the other woman onstage’ continuing, ‘the costume designer, Alejo Vietti, doesn’t seem to have known how to work with
that, dressing her in an unnecessarily unflattering way.’ 

Umphress (25 July, cited in Peterson, 2018) was quick to address the critic however, stating ‘it is shocking to see a woman
body-shame an actress who isn’t a size 0 and praise one that is. Her wording wasn’t constructive. It was full on mean girl.’
Umphress then said, ‘It’s 2018, we should be celebrating women’s diversity in the arts, not shaming them.’ In response to being
called a body-shamer by Umphress, Collin-Hughes (25 July, cited in Peterson, 2018) released a statement on twitter saying, ‘it is in
no way shameful to be big. My remark is not the first time I’ve noticed a designer seemingly at a loss about how to dress a larger
woman well.’ Peterson (2018) explains in the same article that ‘Collins didn’t apologize for her comments. Instead, she tried to
explain them.’  

Laurence O'Keefe's 'Heathers' and Catherine Trieschmann’s ‘Crooked’​ 

Actress Debbie Chazen is one among many performers who has been criticized for her appearance, but with the premier of her
role in Crooked at London’s Bush Theatre, many critics were quick to body-shame the actress. In an article published by the
Independent, Chazen was described as ‘elephantine’ and ‘very fat, like a vast chatty marshmallow.’  (Bassett, 2006) There was also
an article published by the British Theatre Guide that said Chazen was ‘the obese and obtuse bible-bashing Maribel.’  (Trieschmann,
2006) The Guardian newspaper also wrote how she ‘captures the chubby goodness of Maribel.’  (Billington, 2006) and The
Telegraph quoted she is ‘a busty, overweight, perky pudding.’  (Cavendish, 2006) Not only was Chazen body-shamed for her
appearance in Crooked, but it continued into her performance of ‘The Girlfriend Experience’ at The Young Vic in London a couple of
years later in 2009.  (Holt, 2009) One critic even compared her to a sofa. Holt (2009) writes, ‘Chazen is as plumply upholstered as
the DFS sofas on which [she] sits.’ 
 
Almost a decade later, Chazen (2017) hit back at the critics with her article, “Will body-shaming critics ever change?” published by
The Stage. She says, ‘I know the critics who reviewed by body didn’t intend to wound – and they didn't. Rather, they amused.’ She
follows this by explaining, ‘we performers are all on show, and must look the part, but wouldn’t it be lovely, daring and rather
life-affirming if someone who looked, well, different, got cast every now and then? It wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow if it was the
norm.’ Chazen then concluded that ‘it’s only an opinion’ after all. 
 
Performer Carrie Hope Fletcher is another who came under criticism with her the revival of Laurence O’Keefe’s ‘Heathers' in
2018 were she was cast as the leading role of Veronica.  (Todd, 2018) Fletcher expressed in The Mirror newspaper that ‘lots of
comments were made about my shape and size by fans of the show’ and claims ‘it hit her hard'.  (Knight, 2018) One critic quoted
that ‘Veronica is supposed to be skinny’ with another saying she 'wasn’t right for the role’ and other comments such as ‘when did
they decide Veronica would be so fat and unattractive?’  (Todd, 2018) Fletcher describes how she has ‘lacked confidence about her
size' and how during her second appearance in Les Misérables in 2013, she was referred to by one of the creative team as a
‘butch Éponine’ and how they had never ‘had anyone as big as [her] before’.  (Kelly, 2018)​ 
 
What is Equity and what percentage of performers took their poll 'Have you ever felt exploited at a casting?'
 Issues related to performers being type cast, body shamed and criticed based on their appearance has brought attention to
the topic. Equity, a ‘union’ who supports performers to ‘ensure their demands are heard’  (Equity.org.uk, 2018) made an official ‘call
upon the government to crack down on the use of stereotypes’ and ‘shaming in theatre’ in 2013.  (Hemley, 2013) Hemley (2013)  a
writer who published the article “Equality urges action over female stereotypes on stage” on The Stage - one of Britain’s official
newspapers for theatre, available as paperback or online,  (The Stage, 2018) supported Equity’s statement that ‘casting directors,
agents, producers and directors should be encouraged to disregard clichéd characters’.  (Hemley, 2013) He explains that they
[Equity] conducted a poll in 2015, “Have you ever felt exploited at a casting?” to investigate casting practice, with 73.81% of their
targeted audience voting ‘yes’ they had experienced exploitation at a casting, and 26.19% voting ‘no’ they hadn’t experienced it. 
(The Stage, 2015)

RESULT, ANAYLSIS & CONCLUSION​ (900 words)

RESULTS (100 words)

WHAT RESULTS DID YOU MAKE?

ANALYSIS (500 words)

WHAT FINDINGS DID YOU MAKE? ANALYSE THIS.
HOW DID THE LIMITATIONS OF YOUR RESEARCH AFFECT THE VALIDITY OR USEFULNESS OF YOUR FINDINGS?
 WHAT IMPLICATIONS OF YOUR FINDIGNS DID YOU FIND FOR THEORY, RESEARCH AND PRACTICE?

CONCLUSION (300 words)

SHOULD MAKE MAIN POINTS THAT HAVE EMERGED FROM YOUR RESEARCH AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR YOUR AREA
OF SPECIALISM.

The conclusion, though vague, shows that there has been a movement started, and although the issues raised in this review may
never change, they are least being improved upon.

EXAMPLE - There are clearly many elements which come together to create physical theatre. In its evolutionary journey it is
becoming increasingly sophisticated, often incorporating high-tech means within its constructs, which speak clearly to its technically
aware, often young, audiences. By looking outwards at the world around them, the physical theatre practitioner allows the spectator
to look inwards at herself. By acknowledging a paradox of performance that Diderot first recognised - the duality of the performer’s
consciousness, that is, how can she present truth when she knows she is lying - the physical theatre practitioner turns to the
subjective view, the observed truth of the present moment, rather than fixed truth, as Horton Fraleigh describes, “our subjectivity is
lived rather than known… I describe the body in dance as objectively known and subjectively lived” (1987: 43). Everything in life is
paradoxical, and to copy reality we have to understand its paradoxes. As the performer seeks to translate her own first-hand
meaning through her corporeality, if her skill is judicious and well formulated, her audience can then construct their own first-hand
meanings through the experience of witnessing the corporeality of the performer, who becomes the mediator for the expression of
ideas. All artforms are trying to show unmediated truth, which is revealed through its mediators who find a method - a configuration -
that will resonate with others, and physical theatre practitioners are attempting to achieve this resonance through a particular set of
tools. I believe that this dissertation identifies many of those tools and configurations, even if one of these is its “purposeful
ambiguity… in order to avoid fixation in any particular temporality” (Sanchez-Colberg, 1996: 42). In physical performance the body is
a social and political body, in its attempts to “question what is shared and what is specific within the human 43 condition”
(Sanchez-Colberg, 1996: 46). Whether movement has a dance orientation, or emanates from mime, or other physical training such
as that defined by Meyerhold, Michael Chekhov, Grotowski, Suzuki, etc., or is simply the unique manifestation of an individual’s
perspective, the movement will be stylised and poetic in essence, within a merging of naturalistic and non-naturalistic movement,
and made with great awareness of how the body moves through the space, and the affective qualities of that movement in the
space, so that the layers of meaning within the movement become visible to the spectator’s inner eye, as much as we see the visible
traces of the ice-skater’s journey on the ice. Inspiration for physical performances may come from parallel artforms, as well as from
dance and theatre, and performance is more likely to be crafted from a score, rather than a script, with autonomous scenes,
unconnected by time which is fluid, and non-chronological, offering “a view of reality [that] remains partial and a result of the poetic
juxtaposition of the scenes in an extreme form of scenic montage… which remains open-ended so as to engage the audience
actively” (Sanchez-Colberg, 1996: 42). Barba describes this engagement as “organic dramaturgy, which comprises the dynamics of
the actions and the flow of impulses directed at the spectators’ senses… this ‘theatre that dances’ gives the actions a coherence
which does not stem from the meaning but from the capacity to keep alert, stimulate, and convince the spectators’ senses” (Barba,
2003: 113). Physical theatre is a return to the source of theatre, in its merging of dance and theatre, as Barba says, “theatre and
dance form one single vast territory”, and he locates the rigid borders created between dance and theatre in the European
conventions of the last centuries, describing this distinction between elements as a wound, an unnecessary separation of forms,
which did not exist in most of theatre history, in ancient Greek and Roman theatre, the Elizabethan stage, the Commedia dell’Arte,
nor in classical forms of Asian theatre, nor in “the practice of actors who know they are dancing even if they conceal it beneath an
interpretation which has nothing to do with the genre ‘dance’ ”(Barba, 2004 b). The blurring of boundaries, 44 then, between
avant-garde theatre and dance theatre, take us back to what is essential in theatre, when “actors retain the energies that infuse life
into their scenic presence, when they do not dance overtly, something dances within them… [and] the actors, despite all
appearances, dance all through the play (Barba, 2004 b).

EXAMPLE - These plays explore home and body as sites of safety and question how that sense of safety is negotiated in an unsafe
world. If home, as one my colleagues3 eloquently suggested, is comprised of other people, what does the act of dwelling
metonymically or metaphorically signal within the context of performance? None of the plays offer a clear oppositional antagonist
upon which to heap blame; they each acknowledge their complicity in their own demise. The boundaries between us and them are
made less clear in relation to the home. These plays seek to stabilize or reposition black women so that while their traumas may be
profound but inaccessible experiences; they do not define them in the course of history. Firstly, these playwrights recognize a
connection between diasporic displacement and displacement that signify a lost ownership of the black female body. While I am not
suggesting that the black female bodies represented in these plays are all encompassing metonymical embodiments of
displacement, I do maintain that their visibility is important. Parks, Hall and Mahfouz present women that have been uprooted in
some way either in their immediate history or historically. Throughout the plays, the characters occupy temporary, unsafe spaces as
they attempt to move forward in their lives. Each of them is somewhat disconnected from the bodies they inhabit and at some point
their corporeal agency is revoked. Instead, they each attempt to assert their agency over body and home in way that re-visits and
re-contextualizes their pasts and presents. 3 Zeina Salame at my a welcome home, practice as research event 59 Parks, Hall and
Mahfouz recognize the traumatic effects of revisionist history enforced by nostalgia. They use their protagonists as a means of
investigating often overlooked histories. Parks, often considered a revisionist playwright, revisits the narrative of Hester Prynne as a
social pariah positioning her black Hester as a material body who is also complicit in her downfall. Hall inserts the imaginary Carrie
Mae into the already distinctly legible history of Dr. Martin Luther King. While it is contestable whether she is at the center of the
narrative, she is definitely an entry point into multiple parts of King’s lived experiences and impact. While Camae’s own history is
touched upon, she functions more prominently as an interruption of the collective cultural nostalgia for King’s life and legacy – a
nostalgia which was triggered both by his assassination and the erasure of black female narratives throughout history. Similarly,
Mahfouz’s protagonist utilizes the visibility of her own body in order to re-present the narratives of others while also gaining insight
into her own history. Each of these narratives is characterized by the protagonist’s inability to transcend the circumstances of one’s
history. Rather, each character must re-present her history as part of a present and future. Finally, each of these playwrights makes
a case for the both transcendent and connective qualities engrained in what we call home while resisting the nostalgia for a perfect
stable site of growth. Home in these plays is transcendent as site. It extends as an idea under a bridge to the institutionalized, from
the temporary to the eternal. As a connective tissue, it is the place to which each character returns or desires to return. Central to
that desire for return is the inherent nostalgia for a safe place that never existed. In their attempts to negotiate the value of their
bodies, each protagonist must also 60 question the value of their home. As dwellers in unsafe sites of trauma, their bodies serve as
marked sites of memory and return. Their homes are the soil in which these women have grown, invisible to the societies of which
they are a part. Each of these plays recognizes a system that is not set up to protect or ensure the thriving of, much less the survival
of, women of color. They signal a loss that has been incurred on each black female body as she finds that police do not exists to
protect her from harm or ensure justice for the violations of her flesh: the loss that occurs when she realizes that her body does not
exist for her, but for the purpose of others to violate and inhabit.
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