DeadMenDont
Commentary by aspiring theatrical director Braxton Rae `20
This excerpt is a part of a larger devised performance piece titled 3x3. This performance was a collaborative project made by myself, Sam Drust ('20 Emerson College), and Victoria Duffy ('20 Fordham University). Shot in July 2019 in Berlin, Germany, this performance starts as a film split into three parts in three different rooms, with the audience split into three sections as well. One character from each room comes to life during our live portion, where all of the audiences come together as well. As I was creating this part, I was thinking of the idea of “party” and how things like laughing, joking, and dreaming, do not really matter if you are dead. I feel like that puts things into perspective.
Due to the current state of this country (but to be honest, this country's always been like this), I posted this excerpt on social media to show just another instance of how black life is disregarded. In any movement, everyone has their own roles to play. I must say, protesting and marching has never felt correct to me. I AM NOT SAYING THAT THE ACT OF PROTESTING OR MARCHING IS WRONG. I am saying that when I have done it, it has always felt less than genuine in my body. I really have had to figure out where my place is in this movement, and I truly believe my place to make a difference is as an artist.
While I usually do not explain my work because I feel like it should stand by itself, let's lightly analyze some things!
-Having two white women as my scene partners was an interesting (although unintentional) choice because of how white women have specifically helped to oppress black men in a variety of different ways throughout history (think of examples like Emmett Till or fictional ones like in To Kill a Mockingbird).
- We start at play in a harmless water balloon fight, which quickly turns serious. For some reason in our society, little black boys at play end up dead too often for no reason.
- The alcohol I am fed is a reference to how the government introduces drugs into black communities to control black bodies and to criminalize my people. Weed is suddenly becoming legal everywhere, yet how many black people are in prisons for petty weed offenses? In terms of black bodies being controlled, we also should not forget how the same is true in the medical field— ESPECIALLY TOWARDS BLACK WOMEN.
- I am wrapped in rope by these women. I think the rope itself is self-explanatory. Additionally, the women controlling the rope have essentially immobilized me while I am still talking to the audience. One might go so far as to link this to the practice of whites profiting off of blacks for entertainment.
- I break free from the rope and make the women turn it into a jump rope. Now I am finally in control. By reclaiming the rope, it will no longer be used to hinder me in any way. In fact, I've turned it into a game. This is my power.
In this excerpt, I had the agency to choose my ending, which is something that my people do not get very often. I relish in that power and that agency. As an artist, I aim to provide a voice for marginalized individuals, give a platform for those who need it, make political statements, and share with the world entertaining and thought-provoking art.
