As Artists and Educators in Theatre, Dance, and Performance we
unequivocally condemn the historically rooted and pervasive
racist murders of African Americans and other people of color by
police in the United States and globally. We acknowledge these
most recent examples are not unique. We acknowledge this plague
is systemic and extends beyond the police. We cannot function as
a society, nor as a learning institution, in a context where
people of color cannot walk, jog, drive, talk, or even sleep in
their homes safely without fear of being murdered by the state.
We certainly cannot teach our craft, which is by its very nature
a living and breathing engagement with all people, without
denouncing this violence, and the hateful rhetoric that fuels it.
Jacqueline Goldfinger, 2017 Yale Drama Series
Prize and Barrymore Award-winning playwright, will be
the fall 2020 Granada Artist-in-Residence for the Department
of Theatre and Dance.
Noah VanderVeer-Harris was a member of the 2019 GFTF ensemble
while also serving as the publicity intern for the Department of
Theatre and Dance during the same period. He appeared in the
festival’s production of the new musical Fat Kid Rules the
World. Noah shares his insight into why you should be a
member of GFTF which has been re-branded as Catalyst: A Think
Tank Theatre.
Alumna Jasmine Washington, B.A. 2018, has written
Callus, a new production that centers on the racial
disparities in America’s health care system. The new work is
being produced by Art Rat
Theatre which was founded by Rose Kim, B.A. 2018. The
production will be stage managed by undergraduate student Jillian
Yong.
Professor Larry Bogad, theatre and dance chair, has been featured
in a Teen Vogue article “Pranks as Political Activism:
From the Yippies to TikTok,” which spotlights activists
throughout history who have incorporated humor, satire, or irony
into their protests.
Bike City
Theatre Company has been presenting several short radio
plays over the summer which have featured the talents of UC Davis
students and alumni on air and behind the scenes. The series,
Radio Tuesdays, was pre-recorded and the plays are available on
Bike City’s website.
Associate Professor Margaret Laurena Kemp and spring 2020 Granada
Artist-in-Residence Sinéad Rushe who
co-directed the UC Davis online production of
AntigoneNOW will participate as panel members in this
year’s Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s virtual
conference.
The Ground and Field Theatre Festival, the UC Davis-based forum
for new stage works, will launch its fourth year in September
with a new name — Catalyst: A Theatre Think Tank.
