Under These Circumstances: A Choreopoem Workshop with Monica Prince Beginning 4/19
Under These Circumstances: A Choreopoem Workshop
Coined by Ntozake Shange in 1975 with her award-winning production, For colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, the choreopoem continues to operate as a space for creativity, collaboration, and community. This form, that combines, poetry, music, art, dance, yoga, burlesque, and other performance media, acts as a social justice mechanism to bring secrets to the surface about racism, sexism, assault, homophobia/transphobia, ableism, and other oppressive acts and institutions. Originally a Black femme form, the choreopoem lives on in the grandchildren of the Shange legacy, using their bodies and poems to exorcise inherited demons in hopes of breaking the cycles of generational trauma and historical abuse. Under the current circumstances of the world--ravaged by war, poverty, genocide, greed, rape, climate collapse, slavery, and other atrocities--the choreopoem is an option to highlight existential angst and lived experiences to call people to action.
In this workshop, Monica Prince, choreopoem scholar and creator, will lead participants through a series of exercises to write their own choreopoems. In addition to learning the choreopoem's historical context and contemporary uses, participants will discover principles of Black theatre, performance theory, and poetic forms to inform their work. At the end of the workshop, participants will hold virtual staged readings of their choreopoem drafts for feedback and celebration. This workshop is open to all writers at any level, especially those committed to social justice and equity for all, and performance experience is encouraged but not required. Writers are encouraged to bring their own source material (i.e., a chapbook of poems or prose, short stories, personal essays, play scripts, interviews, a manuscript of poems, etc.) or use the prompts provided to generate new content.
Under These Circumstances: A Choreopoem Workshop
Coined by Ntozake Shange in 1975 with her award-winning production, For colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, the choreopoem continues to operate as a space for creativity, collaboration, and community. This form, that combines, poetry, music, art, dance, yoga, burlesque, and other performance media, acts as a social justice mechanism to bring secrets to the surface about racism, sexism, assault, homophobia/transphobia, ableism, and other oppressive acts and institutions. Originally a Black femme form, the choreopoem lives on in the grandchildren of the Shange legacy, using their bodies and poems to exorcise inherited demons in hopes of breaking the cycles of generational trauma and historical abuse. Under the current circumstances of the world--ravaged by war, poverty, genocide, greed, rape, climate collapse, slavery, and other atrocities--the choreopoem is an option to highlight existential angst and lived experiences to call people to action.
In this workshop, Monica Prince, choreopoem scholar and creator, will lead participants through a series of exercises to write their own choreopoems. In addition to learning the choreopoem's historical context and contemporary uses, participants will discover principles of Black theatre, performance theory, and poetic forms to inform their work. At the end of the workshop, participants will hold virtual staged readings of their choreopoem drafts for feedback and celebration. This workshop is open to all writers at any level, especially those committed to social justice and equity for all, and performance experience is encouraged but not required. Writers are encouraged to bring their own source material (i.e., a chapbook of poems or prose, short stories, personal essays, play scripts, interviews, a manuscript of poems, etc.) or use the prompts provided to generate new content.