Other ways: Postmodernism and performance praxis

Abstract

Postmodern theory has fostered performance of “the Other,” a perspective and practice that many scholars find celebratory. Yet a consideration of the framework of postmodernism reveals that postmodernism partakes of the practices it decries, reinforces the status quo, misinterprets the world beyond the academy, and ignores the conditions that create “Otherness.” Current performance practice that attempts to give voice to “the Other” calls for re‐evaluation, re‐vision, and re‐configuration. Implications and alteration of current praxis are offered.