What I Learned about Political Theatre Co-Writing Liberty City with Jessica Blank

Writing Liberty City with @JessicacBlank taught me 3 things 1. The way you speak is your writer’s voice. 2. Learn the rules: grammar, syntax, structure so you can break them intentionally when you write so that you don’t lose the beauty of your writer’s voice & the authenticity of the characters 3. Write about what you KNOW & FEEL deeply. This story of black families being criminalized around drug addiction instead of supported as evidenced by 3 Strikes, You’re Out drug laws which had young mothers going to jail for 50 years for a parking tix and their boyfriend hiding marijuana under their stoop destroyed families. It destroyed mine. So, in writing Liberty City, I spoke not about the politics of the time, but how those politics destroyed real people with real lives. That’s what makes political theatre powerful: Telling personal stories of people becoming politicized by the forces around them...lives being so decimated by political, economic, & cultural forces that folks have to accept or rise up and demand that the broken structure be fixed. So their politicization becomes a matter of survival. That’s where all my work comes from: • acting • writing • producing • teaching Recipe for Great storytelling • specific layered complicated portrayals of folks becoming GREATER than what was PROMISED in spite of the world trying to kick the shit out of them. • Great story creates empathy which creates universal connection because that connection is based on our shared FEAR of death, loss of love, loss of a child, the inability to feed your children or care for a parent or the fear of your children being ripped from your arms. Don’t TELL me SHOW me in STORY In my work, I’ve learned how to keep weaving my pain into light with the hope that I leave my brillant clients with a FIRE in the belly • to ILLUMINATE the most important stories of who we were & what we did • to keep reminding us of our shared HUMANITY & what happens when people rise above pettiness & FEAR & prioritize FEARLESSNESS & KickAss COMPASSION

A post shared by April Yvette Thompson (@aprilyvettethompson) on Aug 4, 2018 at 4:50pm PDT

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