Beneath the violence: a performance as a research inquiry into the use of performance as a rite of passage to better understand black masculinity
Date
2021
Authors
Johnson, Jermain
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Abstract
The purpose of this Performance as Research project was to gain a better understanding of black masculinity in urban Johannesburg, and the underlying different narratives of young black men in contemporary South Africa. This Performance as Research project made use of Applied Theatre techniques, Drama Therapy techniques and auto-ethnography as methods of inquiry to facilitate data collection and the creation of performances. It also included, specifically, autobiographical work, Invisible Theatre, and Self-Revelatory performance. The research locates itself within the Creative Research framework, as the dialogue on black masculinity was largely articulated through a creative process (a series of applied drama social inquiries) and a performance (pre, during and post). The researcher made use of movement as the medium to argue for the use of performance as a rite of passage to potentially transform held narratives on black masculinity, and to question the extent of the transformation
Description
A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts to the Faculty of Humanities, School Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 2021