Considering Diversity and Color in the Creative Process (ages 18+)

This course will consider the roles of theatre makers (Producers, Artistic Directors, Managing Directors, Collaborative Creative Partners, Stage Managers, Actors/Dancers/Performers, et. Al.) and the theatre (or performances) they make, by exploring the following: 

• How & why a season is chosen and who that that season is intended to serve

• The relationship(s) between theatres & the communities in which they exist

• Race, gender, orientation, and ableism

• Casting choices and representation

• The telling of stories and the notion that some stories may not be yours to tell

• The responsibility that is inherent in representing someone else’s story

• The notion that theatre makers might be culturally cognizant, sensitive and receptive to the conversations with which the stories they produce intersect

• The responsibility or awareness of theatre makers that the stories they produce might bear implications and ramifications that resound beyond the boundaries of the fictions they choose to produce

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. John (Ray) Proctor

John “Ray” Proctor holds a BA in Literature (Webster University), an MFA in Acting (West Virginia University), and a PhD in Theatre Research with an emphasis in Shakespeare studies from the University of Wisconsin. He is the founder of People for P.E.O.P.L.E. which is a Theatre for Young Audiences theatre program whose mission was to engage young diverse theatre makers and storytellers from underserved populations in Madison, WI. Proctor moved to the Chicagoland area where he developed an Improv, Acting, and Theatre History for Elgin Community College and Theatre and the Western Civilization at the College of DuPage. In 2013 Proctor relocated to Albany, where he redeveloped and reinvigorated the Theatre Program at Albany State University in Albany, GA. In 2016 Proctor accepted a Assistant Professor appointment at Tulane University in the Department of Theatre and Dance where he teaches Acting I – IV, African American Theatre History, Theatre for Social Justice, Plays and Playwrights, Superheroes: Race Gender and Orientation, He is also an Affiliate Faculty of the Tulane University Africana Studies Program. Dr. Proctor is both a playwright and member of the Actor’s Equity Association with an extensive stage career. Proctor is also a featured essayist in the forthcoming collection Romeo and Juliet, Adaptation, and the Arts: ‘Cut Him Out in Little Stars’(Arden/Bloomsberry).