District 219 Students and Staff Present Workshop on Microaggressions Through Playback Theatre

District 219 students, teachers and administrators developed a Playback Theatre workshop focusing on identifying microaggressions in society and within the District’s schools. The workshop featured videos sharing personal stories and ways to respond to microaggressions, monologues from students and playback theater improvisation, ultimately emphasizing upstander behavior.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a microaggression can be defined as, “a statement, action or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.” Playback theater is the use of improvisation, storytelling, and psycho-drama to present a story.

The workshop began with monologues from two students who shared personal experiences with microaggressions. Senior Emily Lim, who identifies as an AAPI woman, presented the opening monologue titled “Closed Eyes”.

“When reciting my monologue, I felt empowered and grounded in my identity. Performing spoken word poetry feels at home for me; it helps me uniquely communicate my thoughts,” Lim said. “My monologue sought to expose people to the effects of microaggressions and [call for] solidarity against normalized violence. So, hearing how microaggressions I’ve received about my eyes affect me to this day must’ve been eye-opening (no pun intended). My story demonstrates how a ‘simple comment’ can produce life-lasting, adverse effects on the victim and dictate their self-perception of reality and identity.”

For the playback theater portion of the workshop, audience members were asked to share personal experiences of microaggressions. Head of Fine and Applied Arts Patti-Anne Ford interviewed members of the audience and gathered information for trained students and staff to present an improvised account of the audience member’s story. All stories shared by audience members were asked to be kept confidential, but sophomore Sydni Crespo gave the NWN permission to share her experiences with microaggressions and stereotypes. She focused on her identity as a Puerto Rican woman, and her story highlighted feelings of inner conflict.

“Puerto Ricans are often seen… that they’re like really loud, outgoing party people, drinking and you know just being ‘ratchet.’ And I always got told that. In my family, I grew up in a pretty religious family, so most of my family, even my extended family… I don’t see that ‘ratchet’ side of them. Yes we like to party, and yes we like to celebrate because it’s part of our culture, but just being told that right off the bat from someone who doesn’t even know me is frustrating,” Crespo said.

Linking arms and pulling in opposing directions, seniors Eva Schultz and Therese Malijan portrayed Crespo’s inner debate of her identity.

“I almost started crying. I felt like it was being shown what I feel because sometimes people don’t really understand what it’s like to have to advocate for yourself. Some people don’t understand, like if you tell them they don’t understand, but seeing it and especially through Playback Theater to show what I was feeling. To show the emotion in something that words can’t,” Crespo said. “I think everyone should be able to see the presentation and I think its very informational, and also I think that if this does become a school-wide thing it’s something you really wanna pay attention to.”

Chief Equity Officer Dr. La Wanna Wells described the importance of attending the workshop. She worked closely with Ford and other D219 fine arts staff to create this equity series and give students the space to share their stories.

“I think everyone should come to this workshop…We are so often told what we are and what we should be which isn’t fair and I want every student to know how valuable they are and to know how our words can hurt and impact other students negatively. If we’re more aware of microaggressions, then we know how we should be treated and how we should treat others. So, hopefully, this [workshop] grows and grows and grows and hopefully, we will have this workshop multiple times, ” Wells said.

Lim expressed a parting thought for the audience who saw the workshop.

“I hope the audience was inspired to not be complacent in the face of microaggressions and act in solidarity against normalized violence to create a world of peace and empathy,” Lim said.