Shakespeare as Community Practice

Abstract

Around the globe, Shakespearean production is often a form of community theatre, performed in marginalized communities and by non-professional actors. This article argues that to study how Shakespearean production makes meaning in these communities, we need an incorporative methodology that combines tools and values drawn from performative ethnography (observing how cultural practices outsides of the theater production itself are performative), Practice-as-Research (collaborating with theater practitioners as co-investigators), and Applied Theater/Community Practice (creating and analyzing interventionist projects that impact communities). The essay discusses the most salient contributions these three critical practices can make to the production and analysis of localized Shakespeare, illustrating their potential usefulness with examples from the author's work with the theater group Merced Shakespearefest and with the creation of the project Shakespeare in Yosemite . Using the proposed incorporative methodology to embed oneself in, collaborate with, and study the practice of Shakespearean theatre-making in their communities is a form of Community Engaged Scholarship (CES), work that is of mutual benefit to scholar and researcher.