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Concepts from the book "Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox" by Dr. Karen Gaffney come to life in this interactive 90-minute show. MTC first acts out how racism was invented, and then demonstrates the continued patterns of white supremacy and patriarchy in our personal lives, laws, and policies today. 

During guided facilitation, audience members are asked to assess the scenes and are challenged to reflect on the concepts of intersectional power, the race/gender wealth gap, and systemic barriers to accessing resources. Audience-generated ideas gathered throughout the show are used to “rewrite” the script in real time, with MTC performers improvising changes to the scenes. 

The audience is transported to Pleasantville, USA, where they become a living witness to interactions amongst townsfolk going about their day-to-day lives. In this town, there is no police force because the citizens have become adept at policing themselves. Characters pass around the cop hat (a symbol of interpersonal policing) in order to exert power over others and “maintain order” as defined by oppressive systems. 

MTC performers train audience members on the use of several tools: the Continuum of Violence, the Matrix of Domination, and Intersectionality (Patricia Hill Collins and Kimberlé Crenshaw). These tools help the audience understand and assess the manipulation and abuse of systemic power in the scenes. Ultimately, audience members are asked to identify where in their own lives they wear their own cop hat.

An interactive show that educates audiences on the importance of being an accomplice versus an ally when responding to corporate microaggressions. The MTC cast plays out a scenario where multiple microaggressions take place in a work meeting. The audience is asked critical thinking questions, and given the opportunity to interact with the cast to practice de-escalating the violence, and how to follow up with those that incurred the most harm. 

Audience members are taught The Four D’s – bystander intervention tools to help them decide how to intervene when they witness a microaggression in the workplace, based on who has the most/least access to power. Audience members then join MTC performers on stage to “rewrite” the scenes, therefore giving them a safe space to practice intervention techniques.

Inspired by the outrage following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Tentacles begins with a protest where the audience becomes a witness to conversations about the violence of white feminism towards Black and Trans women. Characters explore how to improve cross-racial dialogues within organizations in order to uphold BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) leadership and promote equity and change. 

Through guided discussion, MTC encourages audiences to recognize and remove the tentacles of white supremacy that bind us all. MTC cast members will teach the tool of caucusing across race in order to process emotions and create action plans in a safe space. Audience members will participate in caucuses themselves, and bring their action items for how to create positive change in their own lives to the larger audience.

This show and discussion is based around a fictional, short, documentary-style film: a white history teacher at the fictional MTC College creates an assignment based in Critical Race Theory; the discourse that follows between a black and a white student results in Campus Police being called. As the incident gets media attention, a film student interviews students and staff about the events that sparked campus-wide protests. Although the events in the film are fictional, they are inspired by current events and the persistent patterns of white supremacy and patriarchy. 

MTC performers facilitate a dialogue using critical-consciousness raising questions to help audience members gain a better understanding of the nuance of systemic oppression and violence, and how even "small" moments can create big violence. Following this dialogue, audience members are broken into small groups to create action plans on how to create change within their own organizations.

MTC is also available to develop a unique script and performance (live or virtual) for your organization. We will meet with your team to identify potential challenges and systemic issues within your organization, and create an individual performance or series of performances to support your staff in disrupting white supremacy, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and more. These conversations are both difficult and important, and MTC will support your team throughout the process. We will also provide a guide following the performance(s) to support your organization's continued work.