NotAmuse Theater

notAmuse Theater’s mission is to teach classes and create visceral theatrical work that peels back layers of human complexity and social power in order to recognize the true core of one another’s humanity. 

We work from the core understanding that while theater isn’t always outwardly political, it is always inherently political. As audience members and artists we arrive in a theatrical space as a product of the world around us. We are steeped in its power dynamics, traumas, and resulting fears. notAmuse’s goal is to create spaces where we can deconstruct and transcend that fear to connect with one another on a deeper level.  

We draw upon ancient mythologies and narratives that have historically been used to control marginalized people. We deconstruct these narratives through extensive research into social history, art history, and sociology. 

Stylistically, we often utilize and blend the contrasting yet complimentary performance forms of Bouffon and Butoh. Popularized in 1950’s France, and derived from ancient Carnival traditions, Bouffon/Grotesque is a form of physical street theater that uses satire to expose the mechanism of power in our society and break taboos. Created at around the same time, Butoh is a Japanese movement form created in dialogue with mime, dada, and surrealism. Butoh shifts the energy of the performance space and moves the body into microscopic concentration, shattering the labels we place upon one another and exposing the underlying essence of our core humanity.