Aviva Neff

"After spending my undergraduate years at a small liberal arts college in the American Midwest, Goldsmiths' MA in Applied Theatre was a life-changing decision for me. This program grounded my art praxis in community-engaged ethics and sharpened my scholarly abilities so that when I began a PhD, I felt confident and well-prepared. The close-knit cohort made this a supportive place to learn and grow as an artist, and the vibrant, political community of Goldsmiths inspired me to think locally and globally about my impact.

My dissertation has become a living document that continues to grow and influence my current work. I felt empowered to explore Practice-as-Research methodologies as a means of developing my study as a stage performance one that I think embodies the bold, provocative nature of my experience at Goldsmiths.

I am a recipient of the Ohio State University's "Global Arts and Humanities: Discovery" grant, which has allowed me to develop a solo performance based on my dissertation research about mixed-race women in America. My play, entitled "The Blood, the Earth, and the Water", draws from archival and psychogeographic research that was conducted throughout the Southern United States. This performance will serve as a critical aspect of my PhD dissertation which focuses on cultural trauma, erasure, and the representation of the "tragic mulatta" stereotype in American literature, history, and performance."