June 2019
Report from Mexico City – Encuentro 2019!
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| Street Theatre Workshop |
Every other year the Hemispheric Institute of NYU hosts a conference in the Americas – part academic, part performance, the conference is a gathering of 700 scholars, artists, students and activists who come together for work groups, cabaret, performance, workshops and lectures. I was honored to be asked to present at the 2019 Encuentro and the theme “The World Inside Out: Humor, Noise and Performance.”
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| The DoMystics |
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| La Pocha Nostra |
Most conferences I have attended are full of events and can be quite overwhelming. magine 8 days of a morning, noon and night schedule to chose from. I managed to catch some incredible performances in both traditional theatre spaces, black boxes and on the street. Discussions of political activism and art not only happened on stages at the University of Mexico City but over cups of strong coffee and flutes of frozen margaritas into the evening hours. There was something for everyone and I was lucky to meet people from all over the world.
For my three hour workshop on creating street theatre – about twenty five savvy activists gathered to create some incredible work. This was, thankfully, one of the first events of the conference and the energy at the workshop was palpable. Check out this piece created by the group “Mujeres/Poder.”
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| How Many Feminists Does It Take to Screw in a Lightbulb? |
By day 5 I was ready for my lecture/presentation “How many feminists does it take to screw in a light blub: On creating feminist theatre in the 21stCentury.” Simultaneous translations took place into both Spanish and Portuguese and I was a bit wary that the time lapse would kill some of the humor in my piece but it did not. The audience was incredibly responsive and reactive to my announcement that it was not a lecture but a feminist party!
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| With Diana Taylor |
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| Amazing Activists Unmasked! I could not leave Mexico City without a visit Frida Kahlo’s home and studio as well as the pyramids of Teotihuacan. |
Friends were made along the way – Mexico is a warm and welcoming country and I was happy to bond with brand new colleagues.
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| Frida's Studio |
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| At Teotihuacan - in front of the Pyramid of the Moon |
Thank you Encuentro and Mexico City! Until we meet again.
Mucho Gracias,
Aphra
