Haitian Drama in its Death Throes

[In Haitian Creole with simultaneous interpretation into English]

Historically, plays written in Haitian Creole have been vibrant and authentic, serving as a tool for educating the masses. The people of Haiti use drama in every form—religious drama (plays rooted in the Vodou religion), street theater, drama focused on social justice, activism, and revolutionary ideas—and all forms contribute in changing the political system in Haiti, with playwrights questioning the moral/ethical/social codes of their culture and bearing witness to their times. That is particularly true in the case of total theater, a work of art that unifies various literary disciplines (music, singing, dance, comedy, tragedy, mime, pantomime, etc.) and fosters an active audience participation. Haitian theater, however, whether set/performed in Haiti or in the diaspora, has been said to be in its death throes. Panelists Paula Clermont Pean, Menes Dejoie, Bob Lapierre, and Frantz Kiki Wainwright will dish about the good, the bad, and the ugly of Haitian theater, and explore how mindful storytelling, empathy, and metaphor are dramatic elements that can be mined to illuminate how to be a better citizen in increasingly harsh realities.

TEYAT AYISYEN AN AGONI: Dabitid, pyès teyat ki ekri an kreyòl ayisyen yo vivan ak otantik, epi yo se zouti pou edikasyon mas yo. Pèp ayisyen an sèvi avèk teyat sou tout fòm—teyat relijye (teyat ki pran rasin nan relijyon Vodou a), teyat popilè, teyat ki konsantre sou jistis sosyal, teyat militan, teyat revolisyonè, teyat klasik elatriye,  epi tout fòm  ki kontribye nan chanje sistèm politik la nan peyi Ayiti. Nan ka teyat total la, dramatij yo remete an kesyon kòd moral/etik/sosyal yo nan kilti yo nan tan y ap viv la. Kalite Evda sa a rasanble diferan disiplin literè (mizik, chante, dans, penti, komedi, trajedi, mim, pantomim, elatriye) epi favorize yon patisipasyon aktif piblik la. Sepandan, yo di teyat ayisyen an, nan peyi Ayiti ak nan dyaspora a, an agoni. Manm panèl yo: Paula Clermont Pean, Menes Dejoie, Bob Lapierre, ak Frantz Kiki Wainwright pral diskite sou bèlte ak richès teyat ayisyen an, epi egzamine kijan nou kapab eksplwate  konpreyansyon, senbòl ak eleman dramatik yo pou montre kijan nou kapab vin pi bon sitwayen nan yon reyalite k ap vin deplizanpli difisil.

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