The Performance of Politics

A participatory performance of democracy; a theatricalization of civic life; a new frame on how we work together to make cities better, The Performance of Politics is created with students in Landsman's Freshman Seminar (FRS 143), through observations of local government meetings in Princeton, Hamilton, and other cities. This performance is an abridged version of a production called City Council Meeting, created with director Mallory Catlett and presented in five US cities. The project is now the subject of the book The City We Make Together, published this year by The University of Iowa Press. The work is created through collaborations with artists, activists, government officials, and now Princeton students. The performance lasts 35 minutes and will be followed by a brief discussion of the performance, book and a forthcoming curriculum for secondary students.

Meet the facilitator:
Aaron Landsman is a theater artist, researcher and teacher based in New York City. He is an Abrons Arts Center Social Practice Artist in Residence, a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow and 2014-16 Princeton Arts Fellow. His recent awards include a two-year grant from Creatives Rebuild New York’s Artist Employment Program and an Independent Project Grant from the Architectural League of New York. Aaron’s performance works have been presented by many venues in New York and other US cities, including The Chocolate Factory, The Foundry Theatre, Abrons Arts Center, HERE and PS 122, as well as in The Netherlands, Norway, Morocco and Serbia. His arts and advocacy working group Perfect City engages young adults on New York City’s Lower East Side to build creative community conversations on safety, belonging and equity. His book The City We Make Together, co-authored with Mallory Catlett, was just published by the University of Iowa Press in 2022. He has performed with Elevator Repair Service Theater, Tim Etchells, Tory Vazquez, Julia Jarcho, Richard Maxwell and Andrea Kleine. His fiction, essays and poetry have appeared in The Evergreen Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, River Teeth, Theater Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail. He teaches Theater and Interdisciplinary Humanities courses at Princeton University, where he is currently developing the devised performance Play in collaboration with student performers and athletes and dance artist Ogemdi Ude, ’16.

What to Expect:
Evening Event

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