In October 2019 PC/Cp invited theatre pioneers, Dipankar Mukherjee and Meena Natarajan of Pangea World Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota to facilitate Decolonizing the Stage, a weekend symposium of events focused on decolonizing theatre and performance spaces, and on an individual level, the body.
Since its inception in 1995, Pangea World Theater has worked with artists from many Indigenous, Black and People of Colour (IBPoC) communities locally, nationally and internationally to create works for the stage. As they proudly state:
“Pangea illuminates the human condition, celebrates cultural differences, and promotes human rights by creating and presenting international, multi-disciplinary theater.”
This programming was created in continuation of Sche’chulth: Decolonizing the Arts in Victoria - a series of events during the month of March 2019 designed to engage the entire Victoria arts community in conversation leading to actions which will begin a process of decolonizing artists’ practices, arts organizations and arts funding bodies. Many persons expressed the desire to continue this work.
Decolonizing the Stage
Dipankar Mukherjee & Meena Natarajan of Pangea World Theater, Minneapolis USA
Dipankar and Meena lead two events in Victoria:
Decolonizing - What’s That?
A Roundtable Discussion with
Dipankar Mukherjee & Meena Natarajan // Pangea World Theater
Chris Creighton-Kelly & France Trépanier // Primary Colours/Couleurs primaires
Decolonizing the Stage
An active performing arts workshop with
Dipankar Mukherjee & Meena Natarajan // Pangea World Theater
The question: What needs to happen for decolonization to be a verb, not a noun? was posed to participants, and from their thoughtful responses, this document was created.