michael wheeler

And then signing it “Anonymous.”

How about contributing to the dialogue rather than putting down people who are?

Thanks,

Ian

“what is contemporary theatre? If you mean the mainly publicly funded, mainly media supported, medium-to-large theatre houses, clearly there are not many black people (meaning womben and men, however womben especially), or first nations people or many other people of colour or differently abled people). the reason for this is clear – longstanding legacies of colonialism and imperialism (racism, sexism, classism, etc) dating back to the very stealing of canada from first nations people.”

The only thing more maddening than that unoriginal garbage is Ian’s post:

“And it’s not just the content that’s inspiring me, but the form, too. The use of lower case letters, for example, where typographic convention dictates that a capital be used (but not, you’ll notice, in the case of “I”). And the careful and consistent re-spellings of some words. All of this strikes me as a deeply considered recontextualization – a tangible and inviting solution for moving past the power structures that bind us in so many ways (to capitalism, strict gender roles, race, etc.). That d’bi is able to suggest this revolution without alienating her audience is a big part of the beauty of these ideas, in my opinion.”

What? Ridiculous…or ridikulus or ridiqulus.

“…to be a part of inevitable social change then listening is one of the biggest assets you can have.”

“we simply create another reality in which we can find self-empowerment and positive self-reflection and collective dialoguing about change”

“artists are responsible for honouring the sacred in our present-day societies.”

“the artist decides what questions…”

Sigh.

And it’s not just the content that’s inspiring me, but the form, too. The use of lower case letters, for example, where typographic convention dictates that a capital be used (but not, you’ll notice, in the case of “I”). And the careful and consistent re-spellings of some words. All of this strikes me as a deeply considered recontextualization – a tangible and inviting solution for moving past the power structures that bind us in so many ways (to capitalism, strict gender roles, race, etc.). That d’bi is able to suggest this revolution without alienating her audience is a big part of the beauty of these ideas, in my opinion.

“there are some dialogues we need to have about canada’s past that we are unwilling to have. but if we don’t have them how can we hope to do different, do better for our children’s future and the seven generashuns to come?”

my favourite part:

there are some serious concerns around funding and access, however like I said these will not disappear over night so what do we do in the mean time? wait? no. we create. we live. we dialogue. we change ourselves and our families and our lovers and our friends. and we do not give up our power over self by waiting for power holders to share power. we simply create another reality in which we can find self-empowerment and positive self-reflection and collective dialoguing about change; tell our own stories.

yes. thank you very much for reminding us about that d’bi. i think a lot of independant artists walk around thinking something similar, but it’s nice to see it so beautifully and articulately phrased.

Great questions, great answers. I love your favorite theater memory of being on stage and then losing your voice. I think it’s very powerful.

Thank you for sharing. I felt grumpy this morning, now I feel inspired.

And your daughter is beautiful!

Meredith