Into Abolitionist Theatre

Seeking to transform community-based theatre-making, this book explores the transformative potential of abolitionist theatre, as theatre artists and teachers collaborate with marginalized communities to challenge systems of oppression and inspire profound societal change.

Focusing on the idea of bringing people together to demand collective care and community-led practice, this collection works to define theatre’s role in the goals of abolition. Abolitionist theatre-making is a theatre that is connected to the practice of decolonization, intersectional feminism, climate justice, social justice, and liberation struggles. Exploring these ideas and offering a direct exploration of the questions that theatre artists and teachers should ask themselves when evaluating the abolitionist impact of their work, the volume provides accessible and practical tools for theatre-makers with perspectives from working practitioners throughout. Through real-life stories and experiences shared by theatre practitioners, the book provides a rich and diverse tapestry of examples that highlight the ways in which community-based theatre can contribute to transformational change. Readers will benefit from practical frameworks, thought-provoking perspectives, and thoughtfully crafted insights that inspire them to reimagine their own theatre practices and empower them to create theatre that challenges and dismantles oppressive systems while uplifting marginalized voices.

Ideal for undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in utilizing theatre-making for social change, this book offers new and practical insights into how the path to abolition might be laid and theatre’s key role in it. This book will also be of great interest to theatre artists and activist practitioners who are involved in community-based theatre projects with marginalized populations.

Rivka Eckert is an Assistant Professor in the Theatre and Dance Department at SUNY Potsdam, USA. Eckert is a community cultural development theatre-maker using performing arts as a means of cross-cultural communication. She has taught Theatre and English in prisons, high schools, and middle schools and worked with the Peace Corps in Samoa and Liberia.