The Work of the Dramatic Imagination in Embodying Unvoiceable Loss: Devices for Staging Grief in Contemporary American Drama

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Category

Visual and Performing Arts (includes Creative Writing; sculpture, painting, video, dancing, music, reading, etc.)

Abstract/Artist Statement

Because theatre is a (crucially!) communal art form, part of what dramatists offer to their audiences is a shared experience. The “shared stage,” as I call it, has historically been a place where communities negotiate questions of human experience: identity, ethics, and social responsibility – yes – but also kinship, love, and grief. Conversations on how communities grapple with death and grief have been made simultaneously more crucial and more tenuous by the global pandemic. Theatre artists can contribute uniquely to these conversations through the work of shared storytelling experiences. In this analytical survey of contemporary American drama, I explore methods by which playwrights use the “shared stage” to explore the deeply human reality of grief.

My participation in this ongoing project began as cooperative research with Dr. Bernadette Sweeney in the summer of 2022. Together, we designed and offered a community workshop: “Ways of Remembering: Staging Grief Together” – part of a larger project by the University of Montana, Re-Imaging Death: Conversations About Dying, Loss & Grief, which was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The workshop explored dramatic texts where grief was a central element. A dozen Missoula residents gathered across three weeks, unpacking these grief-texts using textual and embodied analysis (acting).

In this presentation, I carry the work forward, looking more specifically at contemporary American drama. How do the playscripts of the 21st century embody the heart-deep experience of grief? My analysis builds from the central themes of the original workshop, which were ritual, remembrance, ghosting, and preparation. I expand that initial toolbelt, looking especially at uniquely theatrical devices for staging grief. The work here is comparative, rather than summative. It is not a comprehensive list, but instead a robust conversation between grief-texts.

Mentor Name

Bernadette Sweeney

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Feb 24th, 3:30 PM Feb 24th, 3:45 PM

The Work of the Dramatic Imagination in Embodying Unvoiceable Loss: Devices for Staging Grief in Contemporary American Drama

UC South Ballroom

Because theatre is a (crucially!) communal art form, part of what dramatists offer to their audiences is a shared experience. The “shared stage,” as I call it, has historically been a place where communities negotiate questions of human experience: identity, ethics, and social responsibility – yes – but also kinship, love, and grief. Conversations on how communities grapple with death and grief have been made simultaneously more crucial and more tenuous by the global pandemic. Theatre artists can contribute uniquely to these conversations through the work of shared storytelling experiences. In this analytical survey of contemporary American drama, I explore methods by which playwrights use the “shared stage” to explore the deeply human reality of grief.

My participation in this ongoing project began as cooperative research with Dr. Bernadette Sweeney in the summer of 2022. Together, we designed and offered a community workshop: “Ways of Remembering: Staging Grief Together” – part of a larger project by the University of Montana, Re-Imaging Death: Conversations About Dying, Loss & Grief, which was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The workshop explored dramatic texts where grief was a central element. A dozen Missoula residents gathered across three weeks, unpacking these grief-texts using textual and embodied analysis (acting).

In this presentation, I carry the work forward, looking more specifically at contemporary American drama. How do the playscripts of the 21st century embody the heart-deep experience of grief? My analysis builds from the central themes of the original workshop, which were ritual, remembrance, ghosting, and preparation. I expand that initial toolbelt, looking especially at uniquely theatrical devices for staging grief. The work here is comparative, rather than summative. It is not a comprehensive list, but instead a robust conversation between grief-texts.