Corin Wiggins
Artist Statement
The liberation of the human is the primary goal behind my work.
Acting is an art which requires the unlearning of socially constructed, self-imposed inhibitors in order to liberate the body, voice, and mind. Theatre is the magical, communal space for this to occur and be witnessed.
My theatre and its methodologies—for the audience, for the ensemble, and for myself—seek a freer existence, marked by empathy, open-mindedness, and presence. It is resistance to humanity’s recurring tendency to oppress itself. If all forces ebb and flow, the ebbing erosion of rights, liberties, and the freedom of thought across today’s global powers makes the theatre, both as an art form and a communal gathering, more vital than it has ever been in my lifetime.
While my versatile training and performance experience spans the full breadth of theatre history, I gravitate towards forms which emphasize theatre’s idiosyncrasies as a live performance art, finding inspiration in artists (Jerzy Grotowski, Tatsumi Hijikata, early Italian commedia troupes) who distilled theatre into its essential elements; the actor, the audience, and the energetic space they share. I create unapologetically human theatre of muscle, bone, and sweat. The actor’s body is a universal material capable of transcending itself, becoming anything, and speaking to our collective experience. Contemporary stories are told with reverence as I reconnect the theatre with its ancient roots of communal ritual. Like friends gathered around a warm campfire to swap tales, my work is both of the present moment and a timeless connection to who we are as human beings.
I deeply value specificity in art. Project to project, my work is hyperspecific and hyperpresent. This is the path to reaching essential, universal truth.
As our world, our reality, becomes inundated with formless artifice, AI slop, and isolationist content designed to be predatory and addictive, more and more people will need to seek the tangibility of theatre, rediscovering the impulse and action found in our bodies. There is no substitute to a human being in action existing right in front of you.
I am committed to life as an artist because art and the communities fostered around art allow me to be myself, to make sense of my own humanity and empathize with everyone I share this experience with. Art is liberating. Art gives me hope. It is a gift. My aim is to support this gift through strong, disciplined, and important artistry. I absolutely love what I do.
Bio
Corin Wiggins (they/he/she) is an actor, director, and deviser of theatre. Discovering the theatre at eight years old, they hold a B.F.A. in Physical Theatre from a joint program between Coastal Carolina University and the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy. Alongside a national coast-spanning presence, Corin has lived and travelled extensively abroad, creating and performing in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, Kazakhstan (and more), and for audiences from all over the world via numerous international festivals. To date, they have contributed to well over one hundred projects, collectively seen by tens of thousands. They are the recipient of numerous grants, residencies, and positions within theatre company ensembles.
A classically trained actor whose performance experience encompasses forms from the entirety of theatre history, Corin’s original work emphasizes butoh (舞踏) and devised ensemble processes. Both as a solo performer and as a crafter of actor driven ensembles, their work and collaborations are often interdisciplinary, multicultural, and highly unique. Humans, human relationships, and the human mind are the primary concerns of Corin’s theatre, which is always dedicated to high quality material and mature artistic discipline.
