We are thrilled to announce that CDTPS and UTM Department of English and Drama Assistant Professor Leticia Ridley has been awarded a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Black Theatre and Performance in the 2024-2 cycle. This prestigious recognition celebrates her outstanding contributions to research and scholarship in drama, theatre, and performance studies. Her work continues to shape critical conversations within academia and beyond.
In this Q&A, Professor Ridley shares what this achievement means to her, the focus of her research, and the exciting projects ahead.
Q&A with Assistant Professor Leticia Ridley
Q: Can you share what this recognition means to you personally and professionally?
It is a tremendous honour to be recognized and supported in this way. On a personal level, it’s always an encouraging boost when others affirm your work and see value in your area of study. Professionally, the humanities often get the short end of the stick when it comes to funding, so the CRC grant allows me to invest in my research in a meaningful way. It also creates more opportunities to collaborate with students, local organizations, and colleagues. I’m genuinely delighted to receive this grant.
Q: How does this award support or expand your current research goals?
This award directly supports and expands my current research goals by providing the resources and flexibility to deepen my engagement with both the creative and scholarly dimensions of Black theatre. It also allows me to broaden my focus to include Black theatre in Canada, exploring the connections, distinctions, and shared traditions between Canadian and U.S. contexts. Beyond advancing my current book project, this support encourages me to imagine new possibilities—such as developing a Black Theatre History video game once the book is complete. Importantly, it also creates opportunities for students and community partners to participate in the work, fostering a more dynamic exchange between academic research and public engagement.
Q: Your Chair is in Black Theatre and Performance. Please share a bit about the central themes or questions your research explores.
My CRC-supported research primarily advances my book project, which explores contemporary Black women’s popular performance cultures across theatre, sports, music, and visual art. The aim of this research is thus twofold: to (1) explore the role of performance in projects of self-making and (2) investigate the artistic strategies that Black women performers use to capture the complexity of Black life. Toward these aims, my research examines the performance strategies of the visual art of Carrie Mae Weems, the musicals dedicated to the lives of Tina Turner and Donna Summer, the visual and sonic disruptions of athlete Serena Williams, and the technological performance praxis of musician Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Traversing a range of popular performance venues, including athletic fields, musical theatre stages, award shows, and art galleries, the research examines how Black folks turn to popular performance to illuminate the integral role that art plays in preserving Black life.
Q: Are there particular artists, movements, or performances that have deeply influenced your scholarship?
I’m a huge fan of Lorraine Hansberry—A Raisin in the Sun is my absolute favorite play. Right after I graduated from undergrad, I set out to explore Black theatre, and Hansberry’s work was the first play I picked up. I was deeply moved by her characters, her dialogue, and the way she engaged with history. That experience helped me realize that theatre and performance have never been frivolous pursuits for Black people—they are serious, intentional practices essential to shaping our self-understanding and ensuring that our voices are part of the historical record.
Q: How do you see your research contributing to broader conversations in theatre, performance studies, and beyond?
My research will lead to advances in understanding how Black women popular performers provide strategies for living under white supremacy, patriarchy, and late-stage capitalism without allowing these to overdetermine Black life. Achieving the research’s aims will clarify how the entanglements of performance, embodiment, and dominant culture are fluid and how these entities contour with, against, and around each other. Accordingly, attending to these always-changing entanglements that shape and are shaped by Black women’s popular performance will allow my research to make visible and audible the pressures that surveil and co-opt Black women’s labour without invoking foregone conclusions that Black women are merely puppets of capitalism.
Q: What upcoming projects or initiatives are you most excited about under the Canada Research Chair?
In addition to my book project, my CRC will support complementary initiatives, including the development of a Black Theatre Database—an online resource highlighting the rich history of Black theatre in Canada and the United States. This database will include interviews with playwrights, directors, actors, and other theatre practitioners, and feature an online play hub to increase visibility and access to Black theatre across both regions. Furthermore, I plan to establish a Black Theatre and Performance Lab, which will serve as a collaborative space for students, researchers, and artists dedicated to studying and advancing Black theatre and performance in Canada and the U.S.
Q: Are there opportunities for students or collaborators to get involved in your research?
Yes — I’m still at the beginning stages of the program, but I’ll be looking for students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to serve as research assistants for the Black Theatre database and the Black Theatre and Performance lab. I am also hoping to collaborate with some local theatres on these projects.
Learn More
- Read the official Government of Canada announcement
- View the full list of CRC recipients
- Visit Professor Ridley’s profile