“Negotiating Gender (in)Justice: The Politics of Visibility in the Performing Justice Project”

Co-authored with Megan Alrutz, Laura Epperson, and Jasmine Games. Published in Applied Theatre and Gender Justice edited by Lisa S. Brenner and Evelyn Diaz Cruz.

While practitioners often tout applied theatre’s ability to illuminate the stories of people who have been misrepresented or dismissed by mainstream society, Megan Alrutz, Laura Epperson, Jasmine Games, and Faith Hillis note that visibility can result in danger, criminalization, or even death for youth of color and LGBTQIA+ youth. They discuss two case studies in an attempt to nuance the practices around visibility-making with and for youth populations. The first is an online workshop with the Performing Justice Project, wherein due to their lack of privacy, students felt reluctant to openly express their gender identity. They next reflect on negotiating the restrictions of a residential treatment center for young people living in foster care. This chapter invites applied theatre practitioners to reconsider the assumptions about centering youth agency regarding their visibility and to embrace a flexible approach.

“Doing Justice: Pushing Past Fear, Asking the Tough Questions”

Co-authored with Laura Epperson. Published in Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth by Megan Alrutz and Lynn Hoare (Routledge, 2020)

Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth: The Performing Justice Project offers accessible frameworks for devising original theatre, developing critical understandings of racial and gender justice, and supporting youth to imagine, create, and perform possibilities for a more just and equitable society.

Working at the intersections of theory and practice, Alrutz and Hoare present their innovative model for devising critically engaged theatre with novice performers. Sharing why and how the Performing Justice Project (PJP) opens dialogue around challenging and necessary topics already facing young people, the authors bring together critical information about racial and gender justice with new and revised practices from applied theatre, storytelling, theatre, and education for social change. Their curated collection of PJP "performance actions" offers embodied and reflective approaches for building ensemble, devising and performing stories, and exploring and analyzing individual and systemic oppression. This work begins to confront oppressive narratives and disrupt patriarchal systems—including white supremacy, racism, sexism, and homophobia.

Devising Critically Engaged Theatre with Youth invites artists, teaching artists, educators, and youth-workers to collaborate bravely with young people to imagine and enact racial and gender justice in their lives and communities. Drawing on examples from PJP residencies in juvenile justice settings, high schools, foster care facilities, and community-based organizations, this book offers flexible and responsive ways for considering experiences of racism and sexism and performing visions of justice.