USPA & ALLT - Hate Speech Performance

The University Students Performing Arts Association (USPA) and the Association of Language and Linguistic Technology (ALLT) have collaborated to investigate particular elements of online hate speech such as the use of metaphor and othering. Communication breakdown, agency, and the emotional effects of such encounters will be explored through a live and interactive multidisciplinary performance involving text, movement, and music. The performance will be devised with the idea of Forum Theatre in mind. Within forum theatre, the audience has the right to stop the action (which typically depicts some form of oppression) and replace an actor to change the outcome of the scene. We are adapting this technique into a piece revolving around an occurrence of hate speech, where the audience may dictate choices that are presented within the performance itself, and thus the course of the action and outcome may be determined by audience members.