Ensemble theater is one of the vibrant, meaningful American
performance forms today. It's more than art- it's a social movement.
Ensemble theater is one of the hottest, most engaging American
performance forms today. It's more than art- it's a movement. Performing
Communities is an inquiry into a genre of theater that arises from and
empowers the grassroots. The book profiles established ensemble groups
from inner-city Los Angeles, small-town northern California,
African-American South, multicultural southern Texas, low-income central
Appalachia, economically struggling South Bronx New York, and
cross-continental Native America. This compendium of critical writing
about the role these theaters play in building community shows how these
artist groups are forged by working in and with their communities over
time. Ensemble theater is discovered to be neither alternative nor
marginalized, but vanguard, a natural evolution of the movement that
propelled regional theater "away from the commercial restraints of New
York and toward a theater expressive of the rich diversity of American
culture." It is theater that is politically and emotionally charged. It
can be cathartic, healing, and has a proven ability to effect social
change. The book Performing Communities is a project of the Community
Arts Network. It has been created from interviews, analytical essays,
and play excerpts from the "Grassroots Theater Ensemble Research
Project," an inquiry into American ensemble theaters that have been
working in communities for 10 to 35 years. Although originating from a
scholarly report, the language has been edited for a popular audience
and offers an intimate glimpse into each local ensemble community. The
book will appeal to followers of contemporary and popular theater,
social change activists, community building specialists, and a public
curious about cultural development in the United States.
