Fall 2008

Performing Oral Histories:
A Workshop with
Mercilee Jenkins
sponsored by ASU's Interpreters Theatre in collaboration with the Hugh Downs School's Initiative on Innovative Inquiry

September 8 and 9
Mercilee Jenkins, a professor at San Francisco State University in the Department of Communication Studies, provided an afternoon workshop for ASU performance studies undergraduate and graduate students. Jenkins’ workshop focused on adapting oral histories, interviews and natural voice to performance texts. Participants shared samples of their own work as a way of exploring Jenkins’ method.

Dr. Jenkins is a multifaceted scholar, teacher, and performer. She is the author of three solo performance pieces and six plays, including A Credit to her Country, a play about the treatment of lesbians in the United States military, and She Rises Like a Building to the Sky, a piece that explores the history of the founding of the San Francisco Women’s Building. Both of these plays have been produced at Arizona State University. In addition to Field Research and Performance Studies, Dr. Jenkins also teaches courses in Gender and Sexual Identity and Communication. Her book of essays and performance pieces, Sexualities & Communication in Everyday Life, was co-edited with Dr. Karen Lovaas and published by Sage. She was awarded the 2004 Leslie Irene Coger for Distinguished Performance by the National Communication Association.

A staged reading of The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit
Written by Mercilee Jenkins
Performed by Mercilee Jenkins and Rod Ambrose
Directed by Jennifer Linde
October 4
The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit tells the story of what was once the fifth largest city in the United States that has now become the poorest--surrounded by some of the wealthiest most segregated suburbs. Through the experiences of Anthony, a working class Black man and Lucy, a middle class White woman--who both grew up in its inner city--Detroit’s tale is told with humor and dramatic intensity as they survive the 1967 rebellion/riots and meet again amid its ruins 40 years later. Two actors play numerous characters in this tour de force that dares to cross race and class boundaries that surround the city and intertwine the lives of Anthony and Lucy.

The reading included a post performance discussion with Jenkins, Ambrose and Linde.

Civil Dialogue: Let's Talk about McCain/Obama
Facilitated by John Genette and Jennifer Linde
October 10 and 12
Civil Dialogue is a public discussion format that provides a performative space for civilized, facilitated citizen dialogues about the rhetorical issues of our times. The specific focus of CD: Let’s talk about McCain/Obama was the 2008 presidential election. CD provided ASU and community audiences a venue for small and large group discussion regarding issues that engage their passions and affect their lives. CD was designed by John Genette in 2004 as part of his M.A. research on practicing rhetorical criticism in communities. Genette’s goal was to develop a discussion format that integrated Augusto Boal’s improvisational, civic-focused Theatre of the Oppressed with the broader concepts of orality and public rhetoric. Dialogues were facilitated by John Genette and Jennifer Linde.

Annual Fall Cornucopia
November 14
Cornucopia is a fall performance and reading hour that the HDSHC faculty and graduate students offer as a “harvest” to the School. Founder, Dr. Kristin Valentine organized this Friday afternoon event to provide a sense of community, creativity, talent, and fun.

Fall Undergraduate Student Showcase
December 5
Audiences enjoyed performances from students enrolled in C241: Oral Interpretation of Literature, C341: Performance in Social Contexts, C441: Performance Theory, C442: Communication, Performance and Identity

Spring 2009

Metaphors of Blackness: Stories of Constancy and Change

Written by Rod Ambrose, Tenisha Baca, HB (Harold G. Branch III)
Performed by Rod Ambrose, Tenisha Baca, HB (Harold G. Branch III)
Discussion facilitated by Jennifer Linde

February 16
In celebration of Black History Month, The Empty Space hosted local artists Rod Ambrose, Tenisha Baca and HB (Harold G. Branch III) in “Metaphors of Blackness: Stories of Constancy and Change”. Rod elicited strong emotion from the audience as he performed “How I Came to be Here,” an oral history of growing up in Chicago in the 1960s. He spoke of a colorful grandmother who taught him the value of a strong work ethic, the early loss of his beloved mother, and the challenges he faced to stay out of gangs and resist the violent racism of the time. In “Me in HD,” Tenisha presented three narratives about the emotional and physical implications of illness. The story played out beautifully on her body as she shared her own survivor story with the audience and drew upon art and performance as part of the healing process. HB brought his powerful poetic voice to the evening with “Emotional Dis-Course: a Poetic Conversation;” a series of spoken word pieces that explored familiar themes of love, desire and disappointment. HB’s performance ended in a quiet and moving “poof” from his lips as the lights went out and the audience was left to consider the emotional messages embedded in the poetry. The performers spoke about their work in a post-performance discussion led by Jennifer Linde.

Drink, Drank, Drugged
Written and directed by
Desiree Rowe
Discussion facilitated by Aaron Hess
March 27, 28, 29
Desiree Rowe wrote and directed “Drink, Drank, Drugged” at The Empty Space in March, 2009. This performance was part of an ongoing series of trigger scripts that bring traditional scholarship to the stage. Desiree used research conducted by Dean Linda Lederman about college drinking behavior to write scenarios about college student experiences at social gatherings. This interactive performance asked audience members to assume the roles of ASU students participating in a pre-party set up. Graduate student and undergraduate student performers played the roles of the party attendees and audience members interacted with them in four distinct scenarios. These scenarios were designed to highlight Lederman’s findings.

In the second half of the performance, audience members were provided extended information about the party goers’ experiences through short video performances. This segment was followed by a discussion led by Aaron Hess, a postdoctoral research fellow in Wellness and Health Prevention. Dean Lederman attended the performance and offered her congratulations to Desiree, Aaron and the cast and crew. She said, “It was awesome to see my work serve as the starting point for what Des and the team created. I was inspired by how they addressed the complex communicative issues involved in college drinking.”

Students involved in the performance include: Julie McLaughlin as assistant director, Lydia Nelson and Nicole Martin as narrators, Elizabeth Eger as party host, and Joshua Begay, Karla Rasmusson, Ben Whitneybell, Liliana Carassco, and Mona Bapat as party goers. Paul Board provided the technical support.

2009 Graduate Student Showcase and Awards
April 17
Performances by Tenisha Baca, Joe Faina, Julie McLaughlin, Nicole Martin, Lydia Nelson, Amy Pearson

The Dessie Larsen Graduate Fellowship was awarded to Desiree Rowe

Undergraduate Spring Showcase and Awards
May 1
Audiences enjoyed performances from students enrolled in C241: Oral Interpretation of Literature, C441: Performance Theory, C442: Communication, Performance and Identity, C446: Performance of Women’s Literature

The Kristin Bervig Valentine Scholarship was presented to Ashley Hill and Benjamin Whitneybell