Discussion on Harlem Renaissance Theatre Readings

• Angelina Weld Grimké (1880-1958): A lot of Grimké’s poetry speaks to her desire to love and be loved by another woman. Her lesbian identity as an influence to her poetry has been discussed by theorists like Barbara Christian. Grimké’s love for other women is best seen in the third stanza of her poem "Naughty Nan". Click here to see the poem. Though her sexual identity is not overtly specified in Rachel, the paintings that are specified as stage direction at the beginning of the play speak to these larger sexual issues. Specifically, Burne-Jones’ “Golden Stairs” (1880) which can be seen on the Tate Gallery website here, can be argued to have homoerotic overtones. This relates to how the scene setting and architecture of the play is very detailed and deliberately chosen.

• The racial concerns seen in Rachel are not echoed as much in her poetry. Rachel published in 1920. First presented by NAACP in 1916. The play is said to be a response to W.E.B DuBois request for theatre, by and for African-Americans.

• I see two main themes to the play:

1. Lynching
2. The tension between motherhood and echoes of infanticide.

• Touch is also seen throughout the text, and is especially problematic when it comes to Rachel herself. On page 24 for example Rachel’s hug is described as a strangle. Also, Rachel’s dislike of being touched by John Strong towards the end of the play seems to be coupled with a rape discourse.

• Discussion Questions:

1. How does architecture function in the play? What does it mean that on pg.5 Mrs. Loving says that the poor live on the top floor, and how does this relate to the opposite use of contemporary architecture?
2. She originally called the play The Pervert, Blessed are the Barren and The Daughter before being titled Rachel. What are the implications of these titles?
3. How do you see the play ending? Does she kill Jimmy, does she commit suicide?
4. What is the function of the rape discourse in relation to John Strong?

Discussion on Native Canadian Theatre Readings

On Monday, the Feminist Reading Group had a lively discussion of Annie Mae’s Movement by Canadian playwright, Yvette Nolan. Much of our discussion around this play was concerned with the role played by gender politics in male-dominated activist movements.

For further information/context for Nolan's play, please see the following, taken from Yvette Nolan's page on the Native Earth Performing Arts site:

Native Earth Performing Arts: Yvette Nolan
http://webhome.idirect.com/~naterth/yvette.html

It has been twenty five years since the body of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, a Mi'qmak woman from Pictou Landing, Nova Scotia, was found on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Twenty five years since the FBI cut off her hands and informed us she died from exposure. Twenty five years and her Murder is still unsolved. I did not write this play to explain what happened to Anna Mae. Rather I wanted to explore what it must have been like to be Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, a woman in a man's movement, a Canadian in America, an Aboriginal in a white dominant culture at a time when it felt like we really could change the world. I wanted to give voice to one who they tried to silence in life and in death. I never intended to write a documentary. What really happened to Anna Mae back in 1975/1976 cannot be truly known, not to the satisfaction of her family and her friends. The facts are now lost in disinformation and denial, in misinformation and memory. Instead of facts, I am looking for the truths we can gleam from examining the life and death of Anna Mae Aquash: that we must fight for what we believe in; that we cannot know the consequences of our actions; that we live on in the work that we do and the people we affect long after we have passed from this world.

Performance Studies Research Group Event

Please come out to support the PSRG!!

The Western Performance Studies Research Group (PSRG) Presents:
"Fashioning Female Modernity: The Revolution in Modern Gowns and the 'Psychology of Stage Clothes'"
By Dr. Marlis Schweitzer (Department of Theatre, York University)
Tuesday, December 4 from 3:30-4:30 in UC 224A
Dr. Schweitzer’s work is interdisciplinary and her talk will be of interest to those who work in theatre studies, social history, performance theory, and women’s studies. We hope that many of you will join us for what promises to be a fascinating presentation and discussion!
Please find attached a poster announcing the event that we hope you will distribute to your department, colleagues, and students.
About Marlis Schweitzer:
Marlis Schweitzer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at York University. She has published in a number of journals including American Quarterly, The Journal of Women's History, Theatre Research in Canada, and Canadian Theatre Review. She is currently completing a book entitled Becoming Fashionable: Actresses, Fashion, and American Consumer Culture, forthcoming with the University of Pennsylvania Press. Her latest research looks at the men and women who laid the foundation for contemporary celebrity culture in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century through their work as press agents, photographers, literary agents, and managers.
About the Performance Studies Research Group (PSRG):
The Western Performance Studies Research Group explores any and all aspects of "performance" at UWO. We are an interdisciplinary group of scholars who meet twice per term to share our work and insights with like-minded academics. New members are always welcome.

Discussion Question on Urdu Theatre Readings

During the FRG meeting this week, we began discussing, and exploring, the connection between women's clothing (cloaking) of the body, and the space that a body occupies. Jameela Nishat's play, "Purdah" [curtain/veil] addresses these issues by calling the Islamic burqa a portable room, or closet, which immediately undermines the current construction of the burqa as a cloaking device that seeks to render femininity invisible in the public domain. The play suggests, however, that the burqa may render femininity invisible, but makes the female body highly visible, a "subject" of the male gaze. The one character who wears the burqa on the street, however, is the only one capable enough (brave enough?) to return the gaze, to give as good as she gets. The question we attempted to address in such a complex representation of the veiled body is: what does this particular character's response say about the assumptions that the veil is a manifestation of the patriarchal oppressive machinery?

Another interesting avenue opened up by the play is Nishat's (assumed) play with lighting and disembodied voices that question the necessity for veiling the female body. The written version of the play that we have provides very little stage direction. We are assuming that scene 3 (in which multiple, unidentified, voices make numerous statements about the impact of the veil on women's lives) takes place in total darkness, with little or no light. If that indeed is true, then is the stage transformed into the dark interior, presumably the inside of a burqa? What does that suggest about space, body, performance and voice in a feminist context? Is she suggesting that the cloaking of a female body is more than a religious issue?

Following is a link to a poem by Nishat, entitled "Wearing a Burqa", one that highlights some of the issues we've been addressing in our meetings and discussions. Since the play under discussion is not readily available, the poem should help launch some interesting discussions about the role of religion, culture and cloaks in women's lives. Even though the context of the poem (and the play) is quite specific--both are addressing an audience that presumably reads and understands Urdu, and is, thus, part of the North Indian Muslim population--the poem itself seems to transcend issues of translation and cultural specificity. Any comments, questions, suggestions about the material are welcome. Hopefully, we can launch a productive discussion around these issues.
http://india.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=10034&x=1

Notes from First Meeting of FRG

This term’s first Feminist Reading Group explored Urdu theatre as the first installment of our fall series, “Unheard Voices in Women’s Theatre.” Many thanks to Amber Riaz who not only selected our readings, but also provided valuable geographical, cultural, and political contexts for our discussion.

We began by exploring Jameela Nishat’s Purdah– investigating the text’s complex engagements with issues of voice, embodiment, and spaces of performance. We then connected these issues to the text’s representation of the burqa as a portable architecture that houses voice, body, and performance in multiple (and often resistive) ways.
We also discussed Rasheed Jahan’s Woman, and centred our discussion on the text’s querying of women’s property rights.

Please join us for our upcoming meetings. Each meeting will take place from 11:30-12:30 in UC 282, and all the readings are available in the Feminist Reading Group folder in Leanne’s office (UC 180).

November 12 – Native Canadian Theatre
Discussion led by Allison Hargreaves
Reading: Annie Mae’s Movement by Yvette Nolan, and “Writing About Anna Mae Pictou Aquash” by Devon Abbott Mihesuah.

December 3 – Harlem Renaissance Theatre
Discussion led by Ann Gagne
Reading: Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimké

This Semester's Theme: “Unheard Voices in Women’s Theatre”

We have chosen our theme for the Fall Semester meeting/ readings. This semester's theme is “Unheard Voices in Women’s Theatre” , and we will focus on understudied or otherwise marginalized women’s theatre from different geographical regions.
Our schedule of meetings and topics for the Fall Semester has also been finalized.
The meeting dates and readings are posted below. Each meeting will take place from 11:30-12:30 in UC 282, and all the readings are available in the Feminist Reading Group folder in Leanne’s office (UC 180). We hope you can make it out!

Fall, 2007

Unheard Voices in Women’s Theatre

11:30-12:30 in UC 282

October 22 – Urdu Theatre
Discussion led by Amber Riaz
Reading: Woman by Rasheed Jahan, and Purdah by Jameela Nishat

November 12 – Native Canadian Theatre
Discussion led by Allison Hargreaves
Reading: Annie Mae’s Movement by Yvette Nolan, and “Writing About Anna Mae Pictou Aquash” by Devon Abbott Mihesuah.

December 3 – Harlem Renaissance Theatre
Discussion led by Ann Gagné
Reading: Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimké

Hope to see you all there!
Regards,
The FRG

About Us....

We meet once a month during the academic year to discuss pre-assigned readings and how these readings pertain to larger social, historical, cultural and literary movements and work. We are a cross/inter-disciplinary group, and welcome members from all faculties. Our current members are from the department of English, Library and Information Studies, Business and Science. We will be using this website as a place to meet new members, announce our upcoming meetings, post information that might be useful in regards to Feminist research and social activism, and leave messages of support and encouragement in hopes of fostering a safe and productive environment. All Blog Comments will be moderated and ABSOLUTELY NO Hate Speech or Discrimating comments will tolerated or posted. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or information that you feel would be of use to the group.We look forward to meeting you.
Regards,
The FRG