Meet Brett
Tell us about yourself.
Hi! I am Brett Ashley Robinson. I am an actor and devisor from Philadelphia. I now teach Acting at here at the U of I. I like cooking and I live with my cute little dog named Owen.
Briefly explain your artistic practice and/or scholarly research.
Using drag, cabaret, devising, and clown my work focuses on making performance and participatory rituals from the deep knowledge of self. This work looks to provide authentic catharsis for audiences and participants. What does that really mean? Well, I use those forms of making to reveal deep truths about humanity. I am not interested in making theater that feels social or speaks to ideas, instead, I am interested in the feral soup that’s in all of us (this pool of intuitive knowledge) and making work that honors the friction between that soup and our social world.
What sparked your interest in this work?
I have always really enjoyed making people laugh by being a little naughty. I went to the Pig Iron School in Philly to learn devising acrobatics and clown. That really helped me tune my eye and get specific about what stories I wanted to tell. I am interested in helping people live alongside the terrible things in the world through laughter. But on a deeper level, I want to get down to the primal sources of our humanity. A lot of my development of that practice came from working at the Wilma Theater where I am a company member. I try to bring this feeling of rigor and self-interrogation to all of my work.
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How do you hope your work impacts people?
I ultimately hope that my work provides true catharsis and transformation for the makers and the audience. I really think that theater and art has the ability to change people’s lives.
What is your favorite or informal way or space to engage with arts and culture in your community?
Drag Shows!!!!!! Drag shows are some of the most immediate and political places for performance art. It’s a space where a piece can speak to the moment political or in our popular culture faster than any other art form. It is a space where identity is explored deeply and with pleasure, it’s a place for the absurd and wild imagination, and it is also a space where the audience is encouraged to engage authentically and with enthusiasm.
