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Political Theatres is an interdisciplinary body of work that explores the theatrics of politics, using the theater as a metaphor to help unfold its complex narratives. By using a variety of mediums, ranging from photography to sewing to projection mapping to interactive performance, a space is built to convey nuances that I am trying to communicate.
I am inspired by the theaters of the media (and the narratives it creates), as well as the theaters of language, social media, and political conversations and interactions. “What is it to be Political Theatre?” is a 6-minute jazzy, audio piece with a spoken word poem that encapsulates the complexities of how political information is given and received. While one tries to follow along, they may find themselves caught up in the narration, or find that they forget what happened one minute ago, as they are focused on taking in and tackling the new information being presented to them. After all, the theater is invoked to stop the comprehension of information through an endless, monotonous assault of overwhelming anecdotes.
Additionally, my piece titled, “What Was I Made For?” is a homemade American flag that has been constructed from sourced materials and then almost entirely seam ripped apart in order to question where the American flag, as a symbol and as an object, exists. After being inspired by the lyrics in Billie Eilish’s song “What Was I Made For?” I imagined the American flag expressing similar questions and woes: “I used to float, now I just fall down… thought I was happy but I’m not sure now… [I’m] just something you paid for… what was I made for?”
As viral moments and contentious topics weave in and out of our media environment, the performative nature of politics is a constant. Because of this, my work seeks to encourage meaningful conversations and critical thinking around the nature of these performances, where thoughtful responses can be favored over polarizing and instantaneous reactions.
“Political Theatres” continues to tackle the complexities of communication in politics, using theatricality to present political plots in a different, yet not unbefitting context, ultimately using the concept of the theater as a metaphor in order to shine a light on the innerworkings of the political world, the ever-influential media, and the effects they have on its audience.