-
“Hands Up” performance inspires student dialog
10/6/2017More than 100 PPS students held their hands above their shoulders, as if instructed to do so by a police officer, while watching a performance at the Winningstad Theater. The actor and playwright La’ Tevin Alexander was alone on the stage, holding his hands up along with the students, delivering a monologue about being a black man in America.
La’ Tevin’s performance was the last in the “New Black Fest’s Hands Up: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments.” His monologue reflected on the issue that black men are at risk of being victims of unprompted police violence; that his girlfriend and mother have cause to worry about him making it home at the end of every day.
Students were asked to hold their hands aloft for the duration of the performance. The idea was to provoke discussion and to imagine what it’s like to feel the need to hold one’s hands up at all times, simply to not be considered “threatening.”
Hands Up is made up of seven monologues written and performed by black actors in response to the question posed to them by the co-creators of the August Wilson Red Door Project: “What do the police shootings of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, John Crawford III in Beavercreek, Ohio, and others bring up for you?” The result is a moving piece of theater intended to ignite a conversation among audience members about race in America.
After the performers left the stage, students took turns with a microphone, reflecting on the experience and how it made them feel. Some students talked about their experience as a person of color: “When people look at me, they see a black kid. But, I’m me, and I grew up in a black neighborhood, a white neighborhood and a Mexican neighborhood. I’m just me."
Students who may not have identified with the experiences shared in the monologues were still actively engaged in the discussion.
One student said he felt “overwhelmed. I feel like I have a lot to think on when I get home.”
Each comment inspired more students to raise their hand for a turn with the microphone and the moderator and co-creator of the August Wilson project, Kevin E. Jones, encouraged students to keep the conversation going.
“Do you see how much you’ve inspired one another?” he said. “Just one of you raising your hand to share your experience encourages your classmates to share theirs with you. Don’t stop talking when you leave here. Don’t stop.”
-Laura Hanson
By Month
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- June 2015