whiteness

Tut’Zanni, at its core is a company of 6 folks. All of us identify as white. 
Yes, 4 of us identify as female. 2 of us identify as LGBTQ+. BUT, all of us identify as white. 

Our work is based in Commedia dell’arte. Which is a pretty white form, or the way it was communicated to us in a school of all white students with all white faculty, it became a very white form. It was also steeped in misogyny, sexism, heteronormativity, homophobia and more. 

But the truth is, Commedia is agile and flexible. It is theatre. It is a tool to be used to communicate ideas. IT is not inherently anything. Our company quickly realized this and began to find ways to expand the form to fight misogyny, sexism, & homophobia. We also pushed back against other societal structures like capitalism - i.e. the world placing dollars above lives. 

One thing we did not include in our push to fight the good fight… was a conversation about race. 

Why didn’t we? Seriously, why?
Oh, I know. Because we are a company of white actors.  

We thought it was not our place.
We thought we did not have anything to say.
We thought that we would get it wrong.
We thought that we would look like white fools.
We thought that we would be co opting the narrative.
We thought…
We thought…
We thought too much.

We knew in our core that it was an important conversation. 
We knew it. We were having the conversations personally. Finding how we could learn and listen and grow as individuals. BUT, we left it off the table in our work. We avoided mentioning it on stage.

And that is white supremacy. 

It is a thick and potent drug.
We helped maintain it by not addressing it. By not including it in the conversation onstage, we kept it strong. We left it off the table so that it could fill up our spaces, and we would just float in it’s stupor. 

But that is the trouble. WE could float in it. WE had the right ticket. We were all white. 
Anyone who wasn’t white, didn’t get to float in it. 

And our grand idea of generosity for our audience, was a lie. We were generous only to a certain audience, a white audience. 

But guess what. The great thing about theatre - it is a tool to communicate. It is not inherently anything. So we must change. We must commit to not only dismantling misogyny, sexism and homophobia -- we must commit to dismantling white supremacy. This fight must become part of our company and the work we create. 

We need to read. We need to listen. We need to better understand how we, benefactors of this system, can work to pull it apart piece-by-piece. We have to try things. We will fail. We will grow and we will become, eventually, agents of change that help to create a better world. And we can. Not for any other reason than we must. There is no turning back now.

- Patrick