Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Our responsibilities as artists and academics are simple yet simultaneously complicated. As artists, it is our job to be the mirror to society, and to reflect what is going on in our world through the imagination, ensuring that the participants see themselves through our works of art. It is also our role to engage with other communities to convey narratives of humanity that continues to be oppressed or vindicated. As an academic, it is imperative to pass on the information to the next generation so that they too are versed in examining the human condition as well as continuing the pedagogical practice of social advocacy through the performing arts. The proposed online poster, Nuestro Teatro, Our Theatre focuses on the academic artist’s role to find inspiration in a diverse and inclusive society to create work that reflects today’s changing global landscape. I draw from several sources to discuss the necessity of multicultural conscious casting, utilizing my own struggle as a queer artist of color, experiences as a national diversity speaker, and as a director who has sought equitable roles for performers that break boundaries regardless of race, gender and sexual orientation.