Speaking in Many Voices: Honouring Black Storytelling through Transdisciplinary Performance / Keith Corprew (2024)

This research explores the intersections of diasporic storytelling, endarkened storywork, and transdisciplinary performance, examining how these methodologies serve as vital tools for reclaiming agency, processing trauma, and envisioning liberated futures. Grounded in the concepts of diasporic spidering and endarkened storywork, this study investigates the multidirectional ways Black individuals and communities construct and define their lives through storytelling. Drawing on ancestral practices of resilience and resistance, this dissertation situates storytelling within the African diaspora as an embodied practice of meaning-making. By employing immersive storytelling techniques—such as rhythm, call-and-response, and audience engagement—the research highlights the fluid relationship between performer and audience. These techniques mirror African oral traditions and create a dynamic space where personal and collective histories merge. The study also integrates Afrofuturist technologies, using speculative narratives to reimagine the past, present, and future of Black existence. The dissertation culminates in the creation of a transdisciplinary performance, “To Quell a Storm”, which weaves together movement, sound, visual imagery, and narrative. This performance not only reflects the complexities of diasporic identity but also serves as a site for personal and communal healing. Ultimately, the research demonstrates that storytelling within diasporic traditions is inherently transdisciplinary, creating spaces for community, resistance, and reimagined futures. Through this work, the ongoing legacy of Black storytelling traditions is honoured, while innovative possibilities for contemporary performance practices are explored.