Inqueery Creative Process Blog
We had imagined this piece in our minds for a long time before we finally began to create it. We have known each other for many years and supported each other through our coming out journeys. Both of us have grown so much in the past 2 years, since we’ve come to be more comfortable in our self-expression and embrace our identities. We wanted to create something that represented our personal journeys that could be relatable to any number of queer people. This piece is our love letter to anyone struggling to accept themselves, for sometimes one of the biggest hurdles to coming out is being able to admit it to yourself.
We created Inqueery as our thesis at McMaster University and put it on for the public for the first time. Inqueery is a relatable tale that shows the entanglement we feel when we are disconnected with our true identity. Our Main Character must face the part of themself they have been trying so hard to repress when the quirky Queerness emerges as a physical manifestation of their identity. The Main Character must learn to live with Queerness, as their presence is now something they can no longer ignore.
We drew influences from clowning to help inform our movement, an artform that is so innately vulnerable and expressive. We also admire the comedic element that clowning can offer. We wanted to keep this piece funny, lighthearted, and wholesome, because the topic is something that can be painful to revisit. So often we see coming out stories depicted in media as traumatic, with the focus on external sources of homophobia. We wanted our piece to reflect joy and resilience when one overcomes an internal struggle.
In preparation for PROSPECTS, we aimed to stylize our movement even more, with a particular focus on exploring how we feel our emotions throughout our body. We wanted to create a safe rehearsal space where our actors can feel comfortable to explore the extent of their movement without feeling judged. We have been incorporating exercises into our rehearsals that focus on molding the face and body into abstract expressions and having the rest of the group follow the leader. In doing these exercises, we have found that they feel bonding, as if we are all letting out our inner children together. We have also worked on tracking each character’s emotions throughout the piece and exploring where in our bodies we feel each emotion. We would ask our actors to focus on a particular emotion, recalling times when they felt this emotion, letting the feeling completely envelope them. They would then create a movement that represented how they feel this emotion. We have found that even when the movements are subtle, there are distinct differences in energy and movement quality between different emotions.
We hope to inspire our audience to feel more at home in their own skin. If you’ve ever questioned your sexuality, or any aspect of your identity, we hope you can find comfort in this piece.
PROSPECTS: an evening of dance and discussion presents
Inqueery
Created by Catherine Allen & Tarah Ahmad
Friday, June 3rd, 2022
7:30PM | Door at 7pm
Burlington Student Theatre
2131 Prospect St, Burlington ON
$25 | PWYC
GET TICKETS HERE!