Vanessa Macaulay
Public Property: Cultural Identity, (in)visibility, and the Black Performing Body.
Email: vanessa.macaulay@outlook.comWebsite: http://www.vanessamacaulay.com
Profile
I'm a London based performance and theatre maker. My creative practice exists because I do. My identity is something that I have introspectively been thinking about for a while now. I like to play with ideas around identity politics through fact and fiction to allow me to discuss things that I don't have the vocabulary for - yet. I now feel my practice helps to come closer to this discussion, as it speaks to contemporary struggles and anxieties about navigating the world in a specific body. My practice tends to be solo based and often orbits around movement, spoken word, sound and film. Alongside performing, I have been teaching drama in higher education from 2014 onwards including LAMDA modules.
My research interests include, performance and live art in Britain and the US. More specifically solo practices by Black artists. My most recent practice-based research project is a search for belonging. In a country saturated by US influence, can there be such a thing as a Black British female identity? From Swan Lake to the Spice Girls via a bodybuilder mother. This project begun at the Yard Theatre as part of NEXT 2018.
Teaching
- DRA118 - Performance Texts in Practice