T D 301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 42: American Playhouse
Document Summary
Perfor(cid:373)i(cid:374)g race: a(cid:374)(cid:374)a deavere s(cid:373)ith"s fires i(cid:374) the mirror. Came to public prominence in the us as a result of two shows she has conceived and performed about events of extreme national importance involving issues of race. Her talents and wide-ranging flexibility as a performer have led to her construction as celebrity. Fires in the mirror; crown heights, brooklyn and other identities. Crown heights, brooklyn is inhabited by african-americans and hasidic jews. Both groups have suffered historic discrimination and experienced inter-group tensions, misunderstanding and alienation in crown heights for over twenty years. In 1991 racial violence exploded after two boys of south american descent were hit by a car that ran a red light driven by a 29-year-old hasidic student, yosef lifsh. A 16-year-old of caribbean descent, lemrick nelso jr, stabbed the hasidic student to death. Yosef lifsh was not indicted for the death of gavin cato.
