One of our ensemble members shared two poems that he wrote: "Running, Running, Running" and "Blind." This led to deep and meaningful conversations about ethnicity, identity, intimacy, community, and mental health. "Where do I belong" is a difficult question to ask. What options are there when a mixed-race person has trouble finding a sense of community or intimacy? What does it mean to be "black enough" or "latino enough"? When many different identity markers intersect in a person that doesn't look, act, or sound like any one particular group, how do they create personal connections?
A group of Michigan State University students virtually came together throughout fall 2020 to create a series of 5 new audio plays, each connected to the themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). As a starting point, we all brought in poetry to share. We read and discussed dozens of poems from diverse artists and used those as a jumping off point. The poetry evoked frank and honest conversations about race, gender, and sexuality, and every member of the ensemble shared deeply moving personal experiences about how these impact the way they move through the world today. We then created scenarios and improvised scenes until the basic structure for each play began to take place. Individuals and groups of students took on the challenge of weaving these experiences into cohesive audio dramas.