Something from another time is not an excuse
We got a question on our blog post (read here) that sparked a really interesting conversation. You can read the post, but in short, someone was asking us if the colors of Commedia dell’Arte masks were indicative of race. The short answer was no, the colors are/were not intended to be indicative of race, however, there are other problematic features to commedia masks and characters that could easily come up.
This is not the first time this topic has come up in relation to masks. Also, part of our answer pointed out that although the colors were not intended to be related to race, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be read that way by an audience, and if you ever feel uncomfortable about the way something is being portrayed intentionally or unintentionally, you should definitely take a look at it.
As a company, we have been reading So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo, and she gives an excellent example of how something can be about race, even if completely unintentional. She talks about how if she shops in a store and a white clerk follows her around, “[t]his clerk herself may not be thinking of my race at all when she’s following me, she may just be an overeager trainee, or maybe she suspects everybody of stealing and follows all customer regardless of race. But she, for her possibly innocent intentions, is also bringing her white identity into the interaction, as someone who is not regularly followed by store personnel and therefore would be unaware of the impact it would have on me to, once again, be followed around a store by a white clerk.”
Within the company, we are taking a hard look at our work, our style, and what we are saying, or even not saying, when we perform. Just because something is considered “traditional” or a “classic” doesn’t necessarily mean it is appropriate for an audience today, especially in our performances, which tend to be more contemporary (rather than a historical exploration) where we could give context and call attention to these issues. We are not just looking at the colors of our masks, but their features, the attributes in performance, and what is being said to our audiences when we take on our characters.
In discussion about the question and answer post:
Molly: “I think this is really good and something I have been thinking about more just having been in the Colombina mask again. It is a really good and important question”
Patrick: “I agree, this is a good and important question. And this is a deep and layered question, as I think about it. And gets at the tense relationship between archetypes and stereotypes - and that is especially apparent when you mention Pantalone's nose.
Even in your original response, Ali, I couldn't help but think about class as a bigger point of focus in Commedia. As in, the hierarchy of Commedia is more important than the race or ethnicity of the character. However, as we all know, class and race are often linked within societies --- and that example of Pantalone's nose being a signal for Jewish... Oof, Pantalone feels very problematic to me now and makes me want to think about shifting away from that style of nose because it is reinforcing a stereotype with subtle indicators.
I guess, for me, this is a question of impact rather than intent. I think we could argue original intention all day long, but in the end - does it matter? I think your ending paragraph really gets at this, Ali. Impact is more important, so even if the masks and their colors were not designed to be based on skin tone, if that is how they read today we have to make changes.
I have 100 more thoughts, but that was my main reaction thinking about all this.”
Molly: “This is something we have talked about, but I do think it would be interesting to talk about it more, specifically because even this question has made me think about how I totally take for granted what new eyes see when we do this work.”
Patrick: “My fear is that this convo would lead to every mask becoming one tone - like how 'nude' stockings are actually not everyone's skin color. So, I really don't want to go to a place where things become monochrome or where the mask color is changed to match the actor. I also don't think those are helpful. I think using variations are interesting and important.
My other concern is leaning more into colors like green, blue, purple - then things become cartoonish and feel less human. I know that our work in performance feels big, but that doesn't mean that we go full in with the masks. But I could be persuaded.
I don't think there is a perfect answer but I think there are a few masks or specific traits we could think about 'retiring'...
1. Pantalone's nose (Ali pointed out his nose is a signal for Jewish)
2. Colombina with an all-black mask (because historically maids are a space where Black female characters are often relegated, and that makes this mask feel problematic)
I think if we go through the masks and try to find these stereotypical-signals, we can easily pull them out without changing the form or the characters. It would be an interesting exercise... Thoughts?”
Molly: “I have been thinking more and more about how we do this form now and I think there are things that need to evolve which naturally would include things that need to retire.”
Liam: Something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently is the difference between intent and impact. My intent might be to honor the traditions of a centuries-old art form, to do things “the way they’ve always been done”, and to make it clear that the stock characters and the masks of Commedia aren’t necessarily rooted in racist stereotypes - or at least that its possible to make anti-racist Commedia. But impact is something very different. Impact is the way something is received, the way it feels to witness, the lingering effect an action has. If someone sees a black Colombina mask in performance and is offended or hurt because in it they see an echo of America’s shameful history of white performers performing in blackface or a character rooted in racist stereotypes, that’s a harmful impact. And that matters. Impact matters more than intent in situations like this. If I hurt someone, it doesn’t make a difference that I didn’t mean to hurt them. Whatever my intent was, my impact was that I caused harm.
I’m not saying that we should never use a black Colombina mask again or only perform in masks that adhere to certain characteristics. Those are important conversations to have, which I’m looking forward to having. They’re also conversations we might not be able to fully engage in without perspectives from beyond our core company (of six white theatremakers). I’m saying if someone comes to a show of ours or sees one of our masks and says “this seems racist” or “I found this part offensive” or give us constructive feedback about any aspect of what we do, it’s incumbent on us to REALLY listen and think carefully about how to incorporate that feedback moving forward. Especially if that person considers themselves a part of a typically marginalized community and sees something in what we do that reinforces, not subverts or criticizes, that marginalization.
The way art is perceived often changes over time. I was at the Museum of Natural History in NYC last year and they had an interesting exhibit discussing the Roosevelt statue out front. This statue is now being removed.
I remember seeing the statue myself and taking away from the exhibit that something from another time is not an excuse.
Maybe it wasn’t offensive before (or maybe it definitely was), but it doesn’t matter. What matters is your audience today and the messages they will receive when they look at it. This makes me think a lot about the masks we use and are creating for our own performances. Sometimes we forget to take a step back and make sure things aren’t being said unintentionally. This is clearly an ongoing learning process and conversation, but I am excited to go back through our previous work, along with looking at our current and future projects, and make sure we are taking our learning into what we are creating. Just as we are learning and growing, so should our art be.
- ALi