Diaspora Crossroads

Diaspora Crossroads is a solo performance I devised for my M.F.A. Acting thesis project at Louisiana State University. I was interested in investigating my family history through the lens of an actor. I researched various maternal and paternal family members and narrowed my performance exploration down to two ancestors. As an actor, I wanted to investigate how I could use my training to embody multiple characters in solo performance. Furthermore, it was my goal to test my abilities as an actor by writing and creating a twenty-minute solo performance workshop as three characters that varied on my identity spectrum. My thesis analyzes the research, rehearsal, and performance process of Diaspora Crossroads and the implementation of my acting training in the context of devised theater. My findings post performance resulted in my solo performance workshop serving as a potential tool for more extensive characterization. Although the specificity of each character was not sharpened in the brevity of twenty minutes, the workshop lead to creating a foundation for a stronger embodiment of my ancestors through acting in future performances. The performance of Diaspora Crossroads also led to sparking conversations amongst audiences about the performance of identity and culture