Using improv exercises and techniques, Velvet Wells and Hingman Leung are re-imagining how to disrupt racism in their daily lives.
Wells, an award-winning comedian, creative producer and musician, led workshops at The Grove on Oct. 19 and Nov. 9 titled “Practicing Disrupting Racism.”
“This is a practical workshop to disrupt racism through practicing the bystander intervention, [and] through acknowledging and countering microaggressions,” they said.
Wells said the improv workshop offers something that others don’t — a chance to practice what they teach.
“We’re trying to get people to practice what it feels like to disrupt racism,” said Leung, co-owner of The Grove, an arts space for queer and BIPOC artists and allies.
MJ Costales, an Ottawa-based felt artist, said when witnessing past instances of racism, she froze in the moment and only later realized what she could have done.
“I’m a very visual person, so if I see something happen and if I practice it, it’s easier to do than when I don’t have that in my back pocket,” Costales said.
The project started a few years ago when Leung approached Wells about developing an improv workshop to help people react during uncomfortable situations.
Wells led a pilot session called “Use improv to disrupt anti-Black racism” on Oct. 19. But they rebranded the workshop because its name led to incorrect assumptions that it was only for Black people.
“The reason I worked with my community first was because we’re the ones who are impacted by it the most,” Wells said. “And society says, ‘Suck it up.’”
Now, with a more universal approach, everyone is encouraged to attend, whether or not they have experienced racism. Wells said the more people learn and look out for one another, the less these situations will escalate.
“We live in a racist society, so the more people you have engaged in the work, the better it is to decolonize,” they said.
The three-hour workshop was divided into two parts. In the first portion, attendees started by talking about microaggressions. In the second part, attendees participated in exercises to practice the “five Ds” of bystander intervention: direct, delegate, delay, distract and document.
One of the workshop exercises is called “slow-motion commentary.” It consists of one person miming an action that represents the microaggression in slow motion, like putting in a new light bulb, while the remaining people watch and describe what they see.
“The point is to help people have something to focus on,” Wells said. “To get used to documenting what they are seeing happening right in front of them.”
Costales said she wants to attend future sessions to learn and practice improv elements in her life.
“Growing up as a person of colour, I think my way of dealing with microaggressions… I would laugh about it,” she said. “As I’ve become an adult, I’ve been more serious, and been like, ‘Oh no, that’s actually fucked up.’ But sometimes you can’t say that.”
Leung said the workshop is a success if people leave knowing at least one thing they could do during an uncomfortable situation.
In the future, Leung said they plan to host shorter and more intimate sessions focusing on responses to specific scenarios and types of harassment.
Wells added they plan to pitch the workshop to organizations, schools, corporations and community spaces, and adapt it to fit people’s specific needs.
Even amid plans of expansion, Wells said the workshop will always work toward one ultimate goal: encouraging the community to take care of one another.
“If you empower somebody, then their esteem grows, and if their esteem grows, they’re more likely to be brave, to be courageous. Not just for themselves, but for others,” they said.
Featured image by Ana Maria Cadena/ The Charlatan.
