Performing Race: Past and Present

This program will be held in-person at the Newberry.

How do we perform race? This event puts the spotlight on theater makers as they explore how race was understood and performed on the early modern stage, as well as its relevance for audiences today. Through dynamic performances by actors from Congo Square Theatre and thought-provoking conversations, we will consider the legacy of pre-1800 theater in contemporary Black performance.

Performances
Wives as They Were and Maids as They Are, Act V, Scene 1, by Mrs. Elizabeth Inchbald
Anthony Irons and Malkia Stampley Johnson

Titus Andronicus, Act V, Scene 1, Aaron the Moor, by William Shakespeare
Allen Gilmore and Anthony Irons

Discussion
The actors, in conversation with Ericka Ratcliff and Vanessa Corredera, will explore how race was understood and performed on the early modern stage, as well as its relevance for audiences today.

This program is being held in conjunction with the Newberry exhibition Seeing Race Before Race, which is generously supported by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and Pam and Doug Walter.

You can purchase a copy of the exhibition catalog, Seeing Race Before Race: Visual Culture and the Racial Matrix in the Premodern World, from the Newberry Bookshop.

Speakers and Performers

Vanessa I. Corredera, associate professor and department chair of English at Andrews University, earned a PhD in English with an emphasis in Renaissance literature from Northwestern University. Her research focuses on the intersections between Shakespeare, race, and representation in contemporary popular culture, adaptations/appropriations, and performance. She is the author of Reanimating Shakespeare’s Othello in Post-Racial America.  

Allen Gilmore has performed on stages across the US, Canada, and Europe. Among his many awards are the 2015 Lunt-Fontaine Fellowship, the 2015 3Arts Prize, and the 2019 Nicholas Ruddall Prize. A former English teacher and veteran of the US Army Infantry who served in Germany, Mr. Allen hold a BFA in acting from Julliard and trained under Stella Adler at the Adler Studio, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Anthony Irons, an ensemble member of both Congo Square Theatre and Lookingglass Theatre, is an actor, writer, and director. He has received a Black Theatre Alliance Award and two African American Arts Alliance Awards, and his film and television credits include The Big Leap, Southside, Chicago Med, Empire, Chicago Fire, Gold Coast, Let’s Go to Prison, and Gossamer.

Malkia Stampley Johnson, an actor and director for television, film, and stage at theaters throughout the Midwest. She joined Goodman Theatre as BOLD Artistic Producer October 2021 after serving as founding Artistic Producer for the Milwaukee Black Theater Festival for two seasons.

Ericka Ratcliff is artistic director of Congo Square Theatre, currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary! She also works as an actor, director and producer around Chicago.

Cost and Registration

This program is free and open to all. Advance registration required.

Registration opens October 1.

Support the Newberry

Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone.

Questions?

Call us at (312) 255-3592 or send us an email.

Past Public Programs

Check out video recordings of past Newberry public programs on our YouTube channel.