Black Performance Theory 2026: Conversations

April 9-10, 2026; April 30-May 1, 2026

SLIPPAGE Lab | 1877 Campus Drive, Room 226, Evanston

The ambition of the Black Performance Theory working group is modeled in these series of conversations with Northwestern professors and the scholars of their choice from institutions across the United States. Each pair arrives with a pressing interest surrounding Black performance to be examined live in front of audience witnesses. Join us for one or all of these events (virtual option will be available). Co-sponsored by Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities and the Dance Program. .

Thu, Apr 9, 2026 | 5:30–7:00 PM
Melissa Blanco Borelli, Associate Professor of Theatre and Director of the Dance Program, in opening conversation with Miriam Petty, Associate Professor and Screen Cultures Director of Graduate Studies at Northwestern University

Fri, Apr 10, 2026 | 12:30–2:00 PM
Bimbola Akinbola, Assistant Professor of Performance Studies, in conversation with Jessica Kenyatta Walker, Assistant Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, American Culture at the University of Michigan

Fri, Apr 10, 2026 | 3:00–4:30 PM
Danielle Bainbridge, Assistant Professor of Theatre, in conversation with Rhaisa Williams, Assistant Professor of Theatre at Princeton University

Thu, Apr 30, 2026 | 5:30–7:00 PM
Henry Castillo, Assistant Professor of Theatre, conversation with Luis C. Rincón Alba, Assistant Professor, Art and Public Policy, NYU

Fri, May 1, 2026 | 12:30–2:00 PM
Cristal Chanelle Truscott, Associate Professor, Theatre, in conversation with Dr. Tanya L. Shields, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies for Women and Gender Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill

Fri, May 1, 2026 | 3:00–4:30 PM
Thomas F. DeFrantz, Professor of Theatre, in closing conversation with Kevin E. Quashie, Professor of English, Brown University

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