Chasen Whitson - The Roof is on Fire (1994) Response

Young teenage people of color are asked to speak on issues most prevalent to them and their lives. “What group of people do we hardly ever listen too but hear about all the time?” Getting a group of teenagers together in each vehicle to discuss prevalent issues that affect their lives and their communities such as sex, violence, families, their education, and how they view their future. 200 Oakland inner-city teenage participants of the performance engaged in topics of relevance that are provocative while sitting in cars upon rooftop parking lots. Audience members listened to these topics that were provocative to the students; observing the current relevance issues had in their community. Teenagers discussed minorities and stereotypes associated with gender and race that are applicable to their lives, majoritivly not by choice. Equipped with cars to sit in, a parking lot roof performance space, media attention, and donations; the performance aroused creative thinking and brought current racial and stereotypically assigned viewpoints to the forefront of discussion.