Africana Studies 241PE - Topics in Africana Studies: 'African Performance Aesthetics'

This class explores African approaches to performance, premised on the interdisciplinarity of theatre in many African societies. We take our inspiration from centuries of apprentice-style artist training in some indigenous West African societies. The evolution of oral and popular performance traditions into literary theatre has also necessitated a similar trend in the training of the modern actor. The primary object of this class is to be able to embody a plethora of idiomatic expressions. Thus, we will move to the energy of the drums, we will train the ears to transmit the complex musicality of several sonic elements and raise our voices in song and apply them in scene explorations. Ultimately, we intend to unlock new ways of using our minds, bodies, and voices as conduits of exciting storytelling.