MA(S)KING HER

Ma(s)king Her (2016) is a dance theater work addressing the absence of women of color in speculative fiction as empowered future beings and journeywomen. Aligned with AfroSurrealism and black feminist thought, this modern folktale emphasizing the urgency of creating alternative worlds and economies of value and need, particularly for women of color in a world that often subjugates their collective presence to silence and/or invisibility.

Through monthly gatherings during HPP’s 2015 residency at Washington Park Arts Incubator and other workshops with universities and cultural organizations, community participants have taken part in a series of reading groups, dialogues, story circles, performance workshops, and “choose your own adventure” game structures to co-create the world(s) of our collective heroines.

A  workshop production was staged at Links Hall in August 2015 on the North side of Chicago and at the Washington Park Arts Incubator on the South side in September 2015. Ma(s)king Her premiered April 14-16 2016 at Jay Pritzker Pavilion presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events Spring 2016 Theater & Dance season. The premiere will be followed by creative publication outputs including a graphic novel based on the production’s co-authored narrative, and a community arts curriculum based on the methods developed throughout the process of creating this work.

Sound artists/musicians Jo de Presser (DJ) and Renee Baker (composer) are co-creators of Ma(s)king Her’s original sound score.

Futurewomen, a web series created in collaboration with Aymar Jean Christian’s Open TV platform closely documents Ma(s)king Her’s creative process.

Credit: Tonika “Toni” Johnson