Get Sexy. Get Consent

From 2017-2019 I worked with the Voices Against Violence (VAV) program at the University of Texas at Austin. Situated within the Counseling and Mental Health Center, VAV addresses issues of interpersonal violence through innovative efforts including the nationally recognized Theatre for Dialogue program. First as an Actor-Facilitator and then as the Director of Ensembles, I collaborated on VAV’s seminal piece, Get Sexy. Get Consent. Using interactive scenes and dialogic drama strategies, this participatory performance engages audiences in examining how we negotiate consent, boundaries, and safety in various contexts.

In my transition from Actor-Facilitator to Director, I worked to establish a democratic rehearsal space that honored the agency of each ensemble member within the process. I delighted in how the Actor-Facilitators took the initiative to re-structure parts of the script, create original soundtracks to enhance certain moment, and offer insightful staging suggestions. I also note, however, that our process included a few moments of confusion and tension about whose responsibility it was to make which decisions.

In my role as Director, I guided the ensemble to significantly revise and re-devise Get Sexy. Get Consent. Rather than try to offer definitions and “correct” answers, I encouraged the ensemble to craft questions and facilitate discussions that co-construct meaning with the audience. We further developed intimate scenes that highlight the nuances and challenges of negotiating consent in real-life situations. Throughout our devising process, we interrogated how systems of power/control shape our individual and collective understanding of sex, consent, and violence. By grounding our work in the dangerous power of hegemonic discourses, we worked to plant seeds of disruption in Get Sexy. Get Consent. that might grow and reverberate out into the world.