This report is part of WTOP’s coverage of Black History Month. Read more stories on WTOP.com.
An anti-racist theater program, blending anti-racist theory and social justice, is making room for all actors on stage, by teaching them and stagehands how to recognize and address racism.
Nicole Brewer’s career of becoming an actor was close to planned. She studied at D.C.’s Howard University, where professors exposed her to an array of actors, playwrights and directors from many cultures and backgrounds.
But, Brewer said she hit a wall of racism at graduate school in Northern Illinois, where there were few actors and playwrights of color in the theater program and the curriculum.
And, she said, her professors had a narrow view of who should be on stage as well.
“They didn’t like me having a sense of self,” Brewer said. “They didn’t like me saying I felt erased in the ways they were asking me to portray white characters and take on a white sound.”
That experience spurred her to develop a program that teaches behind-the-scenes staffers how to recognize racism in theater settings and how it harms actors of color.
Brewer said then the program goes deeper by challenging stagehands and actors to find solutions.
It’s called Anti-Racist Theatre — and Brewer said the program has grown quickly
“I want to change how people train folks in acting,” said Brewer, who is a faculty member and the acting program at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. “I ask people to find themselves first. Be clear about who you are and what your politic is and move from there.”
Brewer was recently selected as one of The Kennedy Center’s Next 50, a group of leaders in arts and entertainment. Through Next 50, the performing arts center offers opportunities and spaces for artists such as Brewer to expand their craft.
She said her program opens doors for future actors and stagehands of color too.
“I’m really proud to be a beneficiary of people who came before us,” she said. “I am facing things that I hope generations ahead will never have to face because I took it on. I’m happy to be doing this work, even though it’s cost me so much.”