Asides LIVE Feb 25

Explore how the creation and sharing of art is inherently political in a series of conversations with artists and experts. Using Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Heather Raffo’s Noura as a starting point, the conversations will investigate how the form, structure and context of a work of art informs its political impact.

Coffee and breakfast treats provided.

Panels include:

The event will open with a short framing lecture from Derek Goldman, Co-Director of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, that draws from his extensive experience working at the intersection of theater and politics, and examines how content, context, and form affect a work’s political impact.

Form
How does the structure of a work of art shape its impact and meaning? This conversation will center on how an audience’s experience of story, character and themes get shaped by the work of art.

Nikkole Salter, actor and playwright, Lady Macbeth at STC, In The Continuum
Dr. Maya E. Roth, The Cheryl and Joseph Della Rosa Distinguished Professor of Theater, Associate Professor at Georgetown University
Dr. Isaiah M. Wooden, Assistant Professor of Performing Arts at American University
Moderated by STC’s Audience Enrichment Manager Hannah Hessel Ratner

Context
How does the political atmosphere of a society impact the experience and creation of the work of art?  This panel will look at how shifts in the social and political environment can affect the perception and creation of art.

Azar Nafisi, author, Reading Lolita in Tehran
Robert Joy, actor, Polonius in Hamlet
Soraya Nadia McDonald, cultural critic ESPN’s The Undefeated
Moderated by Dr. Soyica Colbert, Chair of the Department of Performing Arts, Director of Theater and Performance Studies Program and an Associate Professor at Georgetown University

AsidesLIVE will culminate in a short performance and talk with Heather Raffo, playwright and actor, Noura, Nine Parts of Desire.

The symposium is presented in collaboration with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University.