BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:2@cassfloresca.com DTSTART:20230325T193000Z DTEND:20230325T193000Z DTSTAMP:20250625T104115Z URL:https://cassfloresca.com/events/exotic/ SUMMARY:Exotic DESCRIPTION:Click Here to Watch Exotic\n\n \;\n\nMy journey with the Cr iterion Theatre began in 2023\, long before I ever thought I’d step on i ts stage or produce anything there. It started with a poem. A very persona l one.\n\n \;\n\nExotic was the first time I allowed myself to truly s it with the complexity of my identity—of being mixed race\, of feeling l ike I belonged everywhere and nowhere\, of carrying pride and pain in equa l measure. It was inspired by my dear friend and fellow poet Shaniece Mart in\, whose fearless poetry on identity gave me the courage to write my own truth. It was also born from my involvement in the Mixed Rage exhibition at the MAC in Birmingham\, where I collaborated with other artists explori ng the reality of being mixed race—how beautiful\, painful\, and disorie nting that space can be.\n\n \;\n\nWhen Exotic was referred to the Cri terion for a staged dramatisation\, I was both honoured and terrified. I h ad never imagined that my words—so raw and vulnerable—could live beyon d the page\, let alone be brought to life in front of an audience. But tha t moment was transformative. Watching the piece unfold on stage\, shaped t hrough direction\, performance\, and collective interpretation\, was the f irst time I understood the power of theatre to carry deeply personal stori es and hold them in a shared space.\n\n \;\n\nExotic wasn’t just a p oem—it was a reckoning. It was the first time I voiced the internal conf lict of being biracial: the shapeshifting\, the guilt\, the hypervisibilit y and invisibility\, the microaggressions\, the fetishisation\, the longin g for purity in a world that demands categories. It was the first time I s aid aloud that being called exotic made my skin crawl. That I didn’t wan t to be someone’s fantasy or metaphor. That I was still learning how to love both sides of myself—without shame\, without resentment.\n\n \; \n\nHaving that piece staged was a gateway. It connected me to a community of creatives I hadn’t known before. It introduced me to the Criterion\, a space I would later perform and produce in. But more than anything\, it reminded me that vulnerability is not weakness—it’s a starting point. And that sometimes\, our most personal stories are the ones that resonate the loudest.\n\n \;\n\nExotic was the first time I allowed myself to speak from the liminal space I’ve always lived in. And from that moment\ , everything changed.\n\n \;\n\n\n \n Your browser does not support the video tag.\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cassfloresca.com/wp-content/uploads/2025 /04/IMG_545F62256DB1-1.jpeg CATEGORIES:Art Showcases END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR