& Performance - Creativity, Criticality & Performance
In the second episode of ‘& Performance’ host Dr Joe Parslow discusses Creativity, Criticality & Performance with Mountview graduate and teacher Tania Nwachukwu. Tania talks to Joe about culturally conscious concepts and casting, and how she uses her experiences outside of the acting sphere to enrich her performance.
Dr Joe Parslow is a researcher, writer and lecturer working across the fields of queer performance practices and queer studies. They teach across drama, theatre and performance, with specialisms in performance research, queer and drag performance practice, and critical theories. They have published writing on the impact of international influences on local drag performance, how contemporary drag competitions challenge notions of neoliberal identity politics and capitalism in drag performance scenes, and the role of queer failure in understanding drag as a mode of queer survival. Beyond this, they have also worked extensively as a producer of performance events in queer nightlife settings, working with a large range of drag, burlesque and cabaret performers including performers from RuPaul’s Drag Race. As well as nightlife settings, they have also produced drag shows in mainstream settings such as the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Their current research projects explore drag performance in digital contexts, and a larger ongoing project examining contemporary manifestations of hope.
Tania Nwachukwu is an Igbo Performer, Writer, Archivist and Educator born and raised in London. She is a member of the Octavia poetry collective and a Barbican Young Poets Alumni. She received her MA in Performance (Acting) from Mountview, which resulted in her solo show The Kola Nut Does Not Speak English. Tania is also the co-founder of Black in the Day, the submission based photo archive documenting the lives and experiences of Black people in the UK. She is currently a researcher for Black Digital Archiving, a research project led by Multitudes investigating the state of digital archives for and about Black people in the UK.
‘& Performance’ is a series which explores the Mountview MA Performance programme and how performance training can be complemented by critical engagement with theory.
Watch the first episode in the series ‘Artistry, Advocacy & Performance’ with Beth Hinton-Lever and Miiko Toiviainen
Look out for the next episode, ‘Politics, Play & Performance’ with Gracia Rios and Mariana Lafon, coming soon.