Sister Heidi

Dear All,

This has been a very interesting discussion.  I am eagerly anticipating joining the devising process starting Saturday!

Since I haven’t really begun to take part, I hesitate to join in here, and yet reading these e-mails has sparked a few thoughts.  In somewhat chronological order:

1)      I thought it was very brave of Diane to express her trepidation –  and thank you! I often feel uncomfortable and self-conscious during the creating process.  Usually that’s lessened by people  being (previously) comfortable with at least each other.  Maybe some of you there now, but since I won’t be joining the group until Saturday, I haven’t even started!  Getting comfortable with each other and being creative at the same time is a tall order.  Just acknowledging that is sometimes helpful, at least for me.

2)      The point of civil rights/racism/caste in India also resonated with me.  Last summer I taught in an English language program (that’s what I do at SU) and the theme was “The Dream at 50” -  2013 being the 50^th anniversary of the “I have a dream.” speech.  I taught English, but I learned a ton about civil rights, and materials about the issues in the U.S. and South Asia were intertwined.  I didn’t know the influence Ghandi had on King, and vice versa (maybe that explains the statue) but it could be one path to explore while devising.  If this is an interesting direction for anybody, check out Denzel Washington in Mississippi Masala.

As a matter of fact,  Katherine Boo, one of the authors presenting at the Book Fair, wrote one of our required reading texts for last summer:  Behind the Beautiful Forevers which relates to some of the points of the Dalit part of Diane’s e-mail.  In fact, I am going to go hear the first part of her talk before joining the Devising Group, and see if it generates any ideas I can bring in.  If anyone is interested in this, remember tickets are free.  She speaks at 10:30.

3)       Finally as much as the feminism aspect of this intrigues me (remembering that black men got the vote before white women did), I agree with Tyrone that if we bring in too many different angles of injustice, we risk losing the focus.  The performance is already going to be non-traditional (and hard enough for some people to grasp), and I think if what we’re doing doesn’t seem to fall clearly into the category of “Negro” or “Passion”, it could be very hard to conceptualize – and not just for the audience, but for us too!

O.K.  That is my two bits.  Three bits I guess.  See you all Saturday!

Heidi