ABSTRACT
Philosopher Martin Heidegger’s concept of the “ready-to-hand” suggests an unconscious operation turning object into process, through the figure of the tool. I’ve been thinking about Black presence within varied histories of the United States as an operationalized manifestation of tool; as a presence created “ready-to-hand” as an extension of the will to power that white systems of domination and capitalisms enjoy. Black presence in the US continues to be operationalized as a method of quantifying and qualifying; distinguishing and diminishing; denying, exploring, and wondering at. Seldom celebrated or allowed a full measure of complex humanity, Black presence occurs contingently, made manifest as legislation for access to voting and quality schools; as protest and disruption; as ludic celebration destined for transference and disappearance. Theatre tends to operationalize Black presence as well; to treat it as a cypher or a ghost in the machine.
