On Performance on and across the Borders: A Conversation with Rosalie Purvis

When first I was introduced to our guest it was courtesy of our producer. At that time I was not acquainted with her work and career. Purvis is interesting in the theatre for a number of reasons, not the least of which is her equal proficiency in performance and direction as well as serious theoretical work, a breadth that is less common. Her work in the theatre takes diversity most seriously as much more than a buzzword and some of her work consists in the translations and movements between and among different cultures from around the world, one example of which is the Chaepani intercultural performance project. I found that we had an enormous amount in common intellectually and artistically and it was good to have conviviality with her on this episode. Rosalie’s Bio Rosalie Purvis holds a BA in Literature and Dance from Bard College and an MFA in Theatre Directing from Brooklyn College and a Phd in Performing and Media Arts from Cornell University where her dissertation “Intimate Acts of Translation” focused on intercultural performance methods and translation and border studies in performance. Since 2000, she has worked as a freelance director/performer in New York City where work has been featured at, among others, the Atlantic Theatre’s Second Stage, Theatre for the New City, the Brick Theatre, Dixon Place, the Estrogenius Festival, Teatro la Teo, the Culture Project, Teatro Circulo, 59 East 59, the Puerto Rican Traveling Company, Dance New Amsterdam, 78th Street Theatre Lab and the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. She also creates site specific works, globally. Most recently, she joined a Kolkata-based performing arts collective and together they have performed at various national borders. She has taught courses in performance, literature and writing most recently at Cornell University, Ithaca College, Presidency College (Kolkata) Jadavpur University (Kolkata), the City University of New York, Mercy College in the Bronx, Pace University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Marlboro College. She is currently serving as Libra Assistant Professor of Theatre and English at the University of Maine. Links to Rosalie’s beautiful work https://www.rosalietpurvis.com/