Welcome, I'm
Benedicta Akley-Quarshie Ph.D.
Drama Therapist || Theatre Educator || Applied Theatre Scholar and Juvenile Justice Researcher
About Me
I am a drama therapist, theatre educator, and applied theatre researcher who conducts arts-based and mixed-method research with youth experiencing incarceration and minoritized higher education students. Currently, I work as the Senior Coordinator for Equitable Student Engagement and Success at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. For success and retention, I provide co-curricular empowerment and support to underrepresented and minoritized students.
As an applied theatre artist, researcher, and contemporary theatremaker, I create art to provoke thoughts, shake systems, and heal. When I sing, I sing with artists and human rights activists such as Bob Marley, Bisade Ologunde alias Lagbaja, and Fela Kuti. When I write, I merge souls with Wole Soyinka, Dr. Mohammed Ben Abdallah, and Ama Ata Aidoo. When I engage in theatre production as a director or an applied theatre artist, I am intentional about creating and holding space for minoritized stories and realities with authenticity, respect, and great care for my co-creators. I find joy in working with theatre organizations that work with justice-involved youth as a youth agency-based programs evaluation consultant in the U.S. My current research interests are youth agency and adultism in applied theatre spaces for justice-involved youth and youth experiencing incarceration.
Like Arthur Miller, I believe “the mission of the theater, after all, is to change, to raise the consciousness of people to their human possibilities.” Thus, I use my artistic/educational assets in applied theatre and theatre for social change spaces with justice-involved youth, interdisciplinary arts, and applied theatre programs of higher education.
Videos
Photos
'The Experiment': Jesse/Stacy
The 'Experiment' was an experimental production of a melange of monologues and duets. Each monologue and duet was acted by acting major students of the Department of Theater Arts, University of Education Winneba, Ghana in 2014.
Jesse to Clara Here, I played the role of Jesse: a suicidal patient confronting her therapist about their lack of empathy.
Stacy and Ben Ben visits his good friend, Stacy to ask her advice about asking a girl out on a date. Stacy wishes it was her.
The 'Experiment' was an experimental production of a melange of monologues and duets. Each monologue and duet was acted by acting major students of the Department of Theater Arts, University of Education Winneba, Ghana in 2014.
The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night Time: Tobi
The play tells the story of 15-year-old Christopher Boone, who has an extraordinary brain. Christopher is exceptionally intelligent but finds people and everyday life confusing. When he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbor's dog Wellington, he sets out to identify the true culprit, which leads to an earth-shattering discovery and a journey that will change his life.
Tobi (Christopher's pet and best friend) is handed over to him in space.
The play tells the story of 15-year-old Christopher Boone, who has an extraordinary brain. Christopher is exceptionally intelligent but finds people and everyday life confusing. When he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbor's dog Wellington, he sets out to identify the true culprit, which leads to an earth-shattering discovery and a journey that will change his life.
No Fear, No Hate, Everyone is Welcome Here: Ensemble
No Fear, No Hate, Everyone is Welcome Here. This performance was a Playback theater piece staged to open dialogue on issues of inclusion and diversity in America.
No Fear, No Hate, Everyone is Welcome Here. This performance was a Playback theater piece staged to open dialogue on issues of inclusion and diversity in America.
The Corpses Comedy: Esi
Corpses Comedy Stanley and Selina are madly in love but they fear their parents will not give them their blessing to get married because Selina's father (Mr. Mensah) intends to marry Stanley's Widowed mothered as his second wife. To get married, the young lovers decides to publicize false news about Mr Mensah's death while he is away on a business trip.
Mr. Mensah returns to town and he is treated as a ghost
Esi runs to tell people about Mr. Mensah's ghost.
Corpses Comedy Stanley and Selina are madly in love but they fear their parents will not give them their blessing to get married because Selina's father (Mr. Mensah) intends to marry Stanley's Widowed mothered as his second wife. To get married, the young lovers decides to publicize false news about Mr Mensah's death while he is away on a business trip.
Sweet Dreams and Nightmares : Dimples
The play tells the story of Dimples Kwantabisa, a worried young lady, who is increasingly getting sick and tired of receiving invitations to be the maid of honour at weddings of female colleagues she completed University with some two years back.
Dimples finally receives a call from a suitor after being single for over 5 years.
Dimples is not impressed with her suitor's gift and does not hide her disappointment.
The play tells the story of Dimples Kwantabisa, a worried young lady, who is increasingly getting sick and tired of receiving invitations to be the maid of honour at weddings of female colleagues she completed University with some two years back.
Ellipsis Humanity's State of Amnesia: Floating Soul
ELLIPSES: HUMANITY’S STATE OF AMNESIA This performance explores erasure of memories and history as a result of gentrification. It delves into what remains and/or is deleted when people are displaced and replaced. Using shoes as a repository of memory, the performance showed displaced memories compelled to speak through unfamiliar voices and bodies unrecognized as their own. Photo Credit: @Nii Kotei & @Amipictures
The rage of a trapped memory. Photo credit: @Amipictures
This frame represents the internal struggle that humans go through as they decide on the memories to put away forever. Photo credit: @amipictures
ELLIPSES: HUMANITY’S STATE OF AMNESIA This performance explores erasure of memories and history as a result of gentrification. It delves into what remains and/or is deleted when people are displaced and replaced. Using shoes as a repository of memory, the performance showed displaced memories compelled to speak through unfamiliar voices and bodies unrecognized as their own. Photo Credit: @Nii Kotei & @Amipictures
Community Theater: Arabatta
Anowa: Girl
This was a community theater performance Staged at Sunyani in Ghana, to promote the Obaasima Seal.
Here, Arabatta (lady on extreme right), tries to convince other people in her community to patronize foods with the Obaasima seal, to ensure the quality of the foods they buy.
Arabatta, convinces more people to join her promote the Obassima Seal.
This was a community theater performance Staged at Sunyani in Ghana, to promote the Obaasima Seal.
Ama Ata Aidoo's Anowa talks about the conflicts which arise when a young lady named Anowa rejects tribal conventions and marries the man of her own choice.
These two characters where slaves to Anowa and her husband. Their role was to occasionally provide comic relief throughout the play
Girl swears to report boy to Anowa if he touches her inappropriately again.
Ama Ata Aidoo's Anowa talks about the conflicts which arise when a young lady named Anowa rejects tribal conventions and marries the man of her own choice.