Dream/Drama/
Usually in my dreams when I try to read test it doesn't make any sense at all or the words morph or rearrange themselves on the page. This morning, I had a dream where I was taking an exam as part of an application for a job or a fellowship or something that had to do with feminist theory. The strange this about the dream was that the words on the exam were remarkably consistent and comprehensible, and I spent many minutes of the dream writing out the answers in longhand, complete with scratching things out and writing in the margins. My answers were in my own (bad) handwriting and also remained consistent and comprehensible.
Here is the one I remember the best (paraphrased).
From 1969 to the mid 1970s, the Theatre Department of Seneca College aspired to gender-blind casting of its student productions. Ultimately, this policy was abandoned. Was this an example of a feminist movement? Discuss why this policy may have failed.
While the real world applications of gender-blind casting make it a difficult policy to implement, the intention of gender-blind casting is a noble aim: to train and treat actors simply as actors, rather distinguishing male actors from female actresses. Although male/female is not an arbitrary distinction, the goal of Seneca College Theatre Department in the 1970s seems to have been to produce actors who could truly play any role, to cast actors in roles that would enhance their experience, and to break away from conventions of gender, beauty, and social conformity. (There was a movement towards gender blind casting in the theatre during this period as well, which has been more successfully integrated in professional circles.) Seneca’s gender-blind policy was truly feminist as it sought to expand the scope of acting for both male and female performers. The movement did not fail, however, despite the fact that gender-blind casting is no longer an explicit policy of the college. This experimental movement was one of the innovations that paved the way for an expanded set of conceptions of gender and performance, which can be seen in modern theatre to this day.
By the way, the Seneca College Theatre Department is, as far as I know, a complete figment of my imagination.
Here is the one I remember the best (paraphrased).
From 1969 to the mid 1970s, the Theatre Department of Seneca College aspired to gender-blind casting of its student productions. Ultimately, this policy was abandoned. Was this an example of a feminist movement? Discuss why this policy may have failed.
While the real world applications of gender-blind casting make it a difficult policy to implement, the intention of gender-blind casting is a noble aim: to train and treat actors simply as actors, rather distinguishing male actors from female actresses. Although male/female is not an arbitrary distinction, the goal of Seneca College Theatre Department in the 1970s seems to have been to produce actors who could truly play any role, to cast actors in roles that would enhance their experience, and to break away from conventions of gender, beauty, and social conformity. (There was a movement towards gender blind casting in the theatre during this period as well, which has been more successfully integrated in professional circles.) Seneca’s gender-blind policy was truly feminist as it sought to expand the scope of acting for both male and female performers. The movement did not fail, however, despite the fact that gender-blind casting is no longer an explicit policy of the college. This experimental movement was one of the innovations that paved the way for an expanded set of conceptions of gender and performance, which can be seen in modern theatre to this day.
By the way, the Seneca College Theatre Department is, as far as I know, a complete figment of my imagination.
posted by Joolya at
3:00 PM
4 Comments:
Wow! It's amazing how you remember your dreams in such detail. I find I remember fragments the following day, when things happen or people say something that pertain to my dream somehow. Usually, unless I get woken up while I'm in my dream, I don't remember anything. Do you agree with what you wrote?
I love this dream. I love love love that you had to take a feminist theory exam in your dream, and that it was about the Theatre Department of Seneca College.
Okay. Just sending the love.
Debby
Interesting that Seneca Falls is considered by many to be the birthplace of feminism (Seneca Falls Convention of 1848). I'm certain that the Seneca College name is no coincidence. Your subconcious is pretty smart :)
You have a smart subconscious.
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