As I head into my senior year at Catawba, I’ve also begun my thesis. Entitled Found in Translation, it’s a study of how multi-lingual theatre can be used in the fight against xenophobia.
I’ve always been a bit of a xenophile with a particular focus on language. I started learning my first foreign language when I was 12 years old: American Sign Language. Since then I’ve become fluent in ASL and conversationally fluent in German. My thesis work has also led me to begin learning Spanish, Hindi, Polish, Japanese, Arabic, and French – let’s just say, some have been working out better than others…Alongside my paper, I’ll be completing a full-length play that features seven characters from around the world (speaking the languages listed above). To study up on these cultures I’ve expanded my research passed histories and traditions. My main source has been from movies and television hailing from the different countries or featuring writers and actors from those countries. I’ve discovered lots of great television to say the least! Ramy, Unorthodox, Jane the Virgin, and Slumdog Millionaire, to name a few – highly recommend.
But I wanted to use performance art because reading a history is all fine and dandy but it only just skims the surface of a culture. The art produced by a people is much more indicative and revealing of how those people feel about the world around them.
I’m super excited to see where my research takes me and look forward to the day where I can post a finished product!