#05: Kenosha Verbatim Project — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

#05: Kenosha Verbatim Project

Name: Rayven Craft
Major: Music Theatre
Hometown: Racine
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: SURE

Abstract

Kenosha Verbatim Theatre Project Abstract Proposal

In the summer of 2020, Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha police officer, touching off a chain of events that led to protests and major incidents in downtown Kenosha, including major property damage and the killing of two protesters by teenager Kyle Rittenhouse. What has happened since then? How has Kenosha changed or not changed? How do people view their city since these incidents? How do we move ahead? These are the questions that guided us to and through The Kenosha Verbatim Project. Our mission is to use theatre and performance as a way to explore the issues and give voice to people without the ability to otherwise share their experiences.

This research project aimed to investigate how the events surrounding Kyle Rittenhouse and Jacob Blake impacted the Kenosha community both personally and as a whole. The study was conducted through a series of interviews with 13 individuals from various backgrounds and professions, everyone from political figures to small business owners. The purpose of this research was to give voice to those who felt unheard and to provide a platform for a diverse range of perspectives on the matter. The study aimed to shed light on all sides of the story and to provide an objective analysis of the community's response to the events of 2020. Overall, the findings of this research project provide valuable insights into the Kenosha community's response to these events and highlight the importance of giving a voice to marginalized communities.

Sophomore Katie Layendecker and Senior Rayven Craft facilitated by Professor Carroll and Professor McClendon created a piece of reality-based verbatim theatre that examined how the people of our community have navigated the aftermath. Collecting material through interviews with community members as well as through researching, news articles, and other documents, our team has created a script using the actual words of the people who experienced it. In addition to a poster presentation there will be a performance of our script on May 20th open to the public that shows our research and work.

Poster file