By Jenylle Rufin
Theatre access and creating a safe space for audiences is important to consider for any performance. But who does one think of when they imagine a theatre audience member? It is often a white able-bodied individual. There have been more discussions on starting to consider a more accessible and diverse audience when it comes to creating performance spaces and options for accessibility, and these discussions often surround accessibility for those with disabilities and the creation of safe theatre spaces for neurodivergent individuals. Discussions surrounding the ways in which audiences are forced to act and how theatre etiquette is based off of white able-bodied ideals are rising within the theatre space in recent years. As a result, it has open up ideas to create safe performance spaces within theatre, such as spaces for those who are disabled and neurodivergent through the inclusion of relaxed performances within productions. While it is great that the ableist structure of theatre and theatre etiquette is often discussed, what is often forgotten, however, is how theatre etiquette is rooted in white supremacist ideals and these behaviours that are enforced are based off of white ideas of respect and etiquette. As such, theatre etiquette and theatre norms are not only ableist but also extremely racist.
As Kirsty Sedgman discusses: "these are spaces which for centuries have overwhelmingly prioritised the experiential preferences of privileged whiteness, and as such often work to make people of colour feel ‘uncomfortable’, ‘inferior’, and ‘out of place’".1 As a result, Black people, and I would extend to people of colour as well, are then forced to "adhere to white codes rather than their own cultural principles in order to be seen as appropriately respectful, and they also need to perform this version of respect in a much more exaggerated and consistent manner than white people".2 The practices of Black people and POC within their own communities differ from how white people act. As a Filipino immigrant, I have experienced this first-hand. When we laugh as a group, we get called out for laughing so loud: "why are you clapping while you laugh?”, “Why are you so loud?" But this is how we show that we are engaged and enjoying what is being discussed. This is also the case in many other cultural groups, but when these actions that people of colour see as displaying that you are being respectful and engaged in the show is brought into the theatre space along with our bodies, it is seen as inappropriate, unruly, and is often policed by fellow white audience members. As American playwright Dominique Morisseau observes, this policing "further marginalize audiences of color and tell them they are not fully welcome in the theatre, except by permission of the white audience.”3 As a result, in order to attempt to feel accepted within theatre spaces, coloured bodies, which are already highly policed in any institution to begin with, are forced to further self-police themselves into acting in a way that is accepted by white audiences.4 But at the end of the day, coloured people never win, since "in order to fit into these overwhelmingly white structures, Amadasun suggests, Black people risk being criticised within their own communities for performing their identity inauthentically, adopting the value systems and languages of whiteness in order to gain access to (and value from) the arts experience."5 While on the one hand coloured people want to be accepted into the theatre space, they must lose parts of their identity and adopt the values of whiteness in order to achieve being accepted into the space.
This then brings to light the question of who is cast in the audience. Audience casting is done by looking at who the show is often promoted to and who is welcomed6. Since BIPOC individuals' actions are not seen as adhering to proper theatre etiquette, while disabled and neurodivergent individuals having special needs that may be seen as "distracting" to the "normal" theatre goer. It is often white able-bodied individuals who are "cast" into the audience, are seen as the perfect target audience, and given the easiest access these performances. As a result, we see the majority demographic of theatre audiences as white abled individuals who are considered individuals who follow and can enforce proper theatre etiquette. Fortunately, we are seeing more efforts to open up a safe theatre space for disabled and neurodivergent people through the practice of relaxed performance, but how can we also create this same safe space for BIPOC audiences?
Playwright Jeremy O. Harris brought to life the idea of "Black Out Night" in 2019 for his Broadway show Slave Play. Black out nights were "evenings of a theatrical performance designated for Black-identified audience members only."7 This idea came to life as many Black playwrights realized that many of their shows were very political and "sometimes it’s hard to experience work like that with audiences that don’t look like you. Sometimes you might feel uncomfortable.”8 As a result, Black out nights allowed Black audiences to watch plays by Black playwrights about Black experiences in a safe space to laugh, react, and express themselves with fellow Black audience members without the fear of being judged or policed by white audience members. This practice then not only made audience members aware of who is in the space also who was not in the space; it allowed for them to consider how their experience differs compared to being in a theatre space with white individuals. “Theatre has a white privilege and elitism problem”, as American playwright Dominique Morisseau argues.9 As Kirsty Sedgman discusses, theatres are hesitant to challenge and educate older theatre patrons: "We take their donor money and put them on boards, and we brush their microaggressions off as our old grandma or grandpa who might be a little racist and elitist but are otherwise harmless… It tells the upper-middle-class white audience that theatre is their home first and the rest of us are just guests."10 As a result, BIPOC audiences are further marginalized and are unwelcomed into the theatre space, unless we are given permission by white audiences.11 This is why spaces such as the Black out night become important safe spaces for Black people within theatre. It becomes a space that challenges and rejects white supremacist ideals within theatre and creates a space where Black individuals don't have to can engage, act, and move under the white gaze.
The creation of the Black out nights sparks ideas of the different possibilities of creating safe theatre spaces for BIPOC. While relaxed performances create a safe space for disabled and neurodivergent individuals, the experiences within Black out nights poses the questions: should we normalize creating show nights specifically for Black individuals and POC? Just like relaxed performances attempt to create a safe space for those who are disabled, neurodivergent, etc., should we also create a safe space for Black or POC individuals by creating shows specifically for audiences who identify with these racial groups? While this topic will certainly create some debates within the theatre world, it is an important topic to discuss and consider. In the end of the day, everyone deserves a safe space within the theatre. The question is, are we willing to challenge the status quo and create these spaces?