Eisa Davis Explores Race, Performance, and Liberation in 'The Essentialisn’t'

Challenging Essentialism

• 💡 The show's title, "The Essentialisn’t," is intentionally difficult to spell and pronounce, reflecting its core theme of challenging the philosophical concept of essentialism.
• 🎯 Essentialism posits that distinct categories (gender, race, etc.) are defined by a fixed essence, a notion Eisa Davis aims to deconstruct.
• 🎭 Davis explores the numerous obligations placed upon a Black woman's body, both in life and on stage, questioning the performance of identity.

Evolution of the Production

• 🚀 The piece began in 2012 as a commission for a chamber musical inspired by conceptual artists, featuring a domestic narrative.
• ✨ Over time, influenced by personal and world events, the work evolved into a more abstract and conceptual piece, with Davis feeling she became the character.
• 🖼️ Initial concepts included a video in the lobby featuring artists like Hazel Scott, Dorothy Dandridge, and trumpet players, highlighting the expectation for Black performers to possess extraordinary virtuosity.

Symbolism and Literary Influences

• 🌊 A water tank on stage symbolizes the transatlantic crossing and the Middle Passage, representing both loss and a place of memory, holding both embrace and danger.
• 📚 Books like "Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons for Marine Mammals" and "Lose Your Mother" are presented as a personal syllabus, exploring themes of "undrowning," the illusion of homecoming, and the complexities of the slave trade.
• 🎶 Tap shoes are a central symbol, representing the weight of performing within white supremacist ideology, but also embodying liberation, rhythmic power, and the deep history of Black cultural practitioners.

The Core Question: Can You Be Black and Not Perform?

• ❓ The central question of the show, "Can you be black and not perform?" emerged from a graduate acting class exercise focused on finding non-performance on stage.
• ⛓️ It also stems from societal expectations of performing respectability and exceeding standards, compounded by the burdens of sexism.
• 🎭 For many performers, the stage is a refuge, yet it can also impose its own set of requirements that distance them from their initial reasons for performing.

Audience and Performance Experience

• 🎤 The show incorporates audience sing-alongs, such as to Jennifer Holliday's "I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," exploring the virtuosity and emotional toll of such performances, and questioning the constant demand for Black women to give their all.
• 😭 Audience responses have been deeply intimate and emotional, with many moved to tears, and some continuing to sing the final song after the performance.
• 🌟 The presence of two actors, referred to as "sovereigns," models self-determination and sovereignty over their bodies and the stage, acting as ancestral guides and contemporary figures.