Anti-Racist Theatre

ART, or anti-racist theatre, is a healing technology and collaborative process that centers the well-being of people through practices and policies that acknowledge and respond to the presence of racism, anti-blackness, and other discrimination within the theatre industry. This chapter describes how Nicole Brewer's ART approach is applied in a co-production of Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror by Baltimore Center Stage (Baltimore, MD) and Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT), two LORT theatres located in cities where African Americans and other people of color are the majority. The guiding principles of ART offer pathways to center relational and human needs as collaborators move through creative processes, including pre-production meetings, rehearsals, and performances. Brewer advocates the importance of creating an “anti-racist container” that establishes engagement boundaries for everyone involved in the production, including the audience, by deconstructing white supremacist assumptions on theatre-making. This case study of Fires in the Mirror demonstrates how ART can provide a framework for applied theatre practices in professional, community, and academic settings.