Isaiah -
I really enjoyed reading your blog posts! Each set was impressively articulate and you really dived into both the lecture and reading materials that we covered each week. You managed to strike a great balance between analyzing each of the performances as a student in a highly critical and academic light, but also assessing them with your own opinion as an artist.
In particular, I really enjoyed reading your blog post about the Ta’ziyeh and the video that we were assigned to watch outside of class. I found it particularly striking when you discussed the problematic nature of the way in which the Ta’Ziyeh was presented in the documentary - “the omnipotent and all-knowing voiceover is presented as a neutral informational guide.” This reminded me that we must think critically and proceed with caution when learning about art from another culture, especially if that art is presented by someone who does not belong to that culture. I also enjoyed reading your blog from week six, in which you explained how you would direct Antigonik page fifteen. It’s really cool to be able to see the thought process playing out of someone who I know to be a director on campus.
My interest was also similarly peaked when I got to your most recent blog - week 12 - and you discussed Thomas Ostermeier’s Hamlet “as a tableau of Gertrude’s lesbian...fantasy of escaping the heteronormative patriarchy” - since I know you directed Hamlet last semester! Overall, well done. It was great getting to know you in this class and I hope we can work together in the future!