1 or 2 Things to Consider When Staging Oral Histories of Black and Brown Trauma

Thursday, September 24, 2020
6:10 PM 7:30 PM 18:10 19:30

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This event will be held online via Zoom. Register in advance for this meeting here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The (M)others is an oral history performance that explores the stories of four women brought together by the unimaginable experience of losing a loved one to police violence. This documentary performance weaves together their interviews to explore the traumatic effect of the event on their lives. Through their memories, we are introduced to a young man with dreams of playing professional football, a new father just getting to know his son, a former addict on the brink of turning his life around, and a sixteen-year-old boy shot just a day before his seventeenth birthday. The (M)others brings their untold stories to the stage. Workshop attendees are invited to witness a Zoom production of The (M)others and join Nikki for a talkback about the project, her process, and black feminist methods for staging racial trauma.

Nikki Yeboah (PhD, Northwestern University) is an oral historian, storyteller, and educator. She is an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies at San Jose State University, where she uses oral history and performance to facilitate dialogue around issues of gender and racial inequality and social justice. Nikki believes that storytelling is a transformative act. Stories have the power to move us, persuade us, and most importantly, connect us to worlds and people beyond ourselves. Her most recent performances have been staged at The Soraya (Los Angeles), New College of Florida (Sarasota) The Hammer Theatre (San José), The Marsh (San Francisco), Links Hall (Chicago) & the Chicago Cultural Center. Nikki is currently a board member of Storycenter, a non-profit organization that uses storytelling for social change.

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These events are open to all. For more information or if we can make any of these events more accessible to you please contact Rebecca McGilveray at rlm2203@columbia.edu.