WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWING
Date and Time: Saturday, August 6, 2016 at 2pm
Location: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Studio Theater
A work in progress sharing was open to the public featuring Mariana Green, Janette Martinez, and Jasmine Henri Jordan. A selection of scenes/moments devised and inspired by stories submitted online and by the actresses themselves. A post-sharing conversation, inspired by Liz Lerman's critical response method, was facilitated by educator Amanda Dunne Acevedo in order to capture audience response and feedback.
Audience feedback was overwhelmingly positive. It was a small but diverse group of people, which was perfect for the initial public sharing for this project. Some audience members RSVP'd and attended the performance based solely on the title of the project. They were intrigued by the concept. Other audience members had been a part of the workshop process or were theatre friends of the actresses.
The post-sharing conversation brought out personal story sharing by audience members which was a delightful surprise. One couple shared opposite reasons for attending. The husband had recently lost his mother and wanted to see the show because of that reason, while his wife had lost her mother and was afraid to attend. A young man in the audience shared that he had lost his mother at a young age and he mentioned that he enjoyed seeing how others' relationships had unfolded with their mothers. After an audience member mentioned that we should look into the tension between the mother/daughter relationship, an audience member spoke up saying that she didn't have a great relationship with her mother and hadn't spoken to her in a while but that the piece itself gave her hope of what is possible, that she didn't want it to change.
Our presentation focused on the mid to late 20 something daughter's relationship to her mother. But what stories were missing? Or what else could be possible? Some interesting ideas came out of the public sharing about the potential future of this project. A site specific piece with stories inspired by a place. A series of performances with different groups performing such as sons or mothers or older performers.
Once again, a wonderful way to end the initial exploration of Stories From My Mother. I'm thankful to have been provided a space to engage others in this conversation and I am excited to see what's next.
-Sindy
Audience feedback was overwhelmingly positive. It was a small but diverse group of people, which was perfect for the initial public sharing for this project. Some audience members RSVP'd and attended the performance based solely on the title of the project. They were intrigued by the concept. Other audience members had been a part of the workshop process or were theatre friends of the actresses.
The post-sharing conversation brought out personal story sharing by audience members which was a delightful surprise. One couple shared opposite reasons for attending. The husband had recently lost his mother and wanted to see the show because of that reason, while his wife had lost her mother and was afraid to attend. A young man in the audience shared that he had lost his mother at a young age and he mentioned that he enjoyed seeing how others' relationships had unfolded with their mothers. After an audience member mentioned that we should look into the tension between the mother/daughter relationship, an audience member spoke up saying that she didn't have a great relationship with her mother and hadn't spoken to her in a while but that the piece itself gave her hope of what is possible, that she didn't want it to change.
Our presentation focused on the mid to late 20 something daughter's relationship to her mother. But what stories were missing? Or what else could be possible? Some interesting ideas came out of the public sharing about the potential future of this project. A site specific piece with stories inspired by a place. A series of performances with different groups performing such as sons or mothers or older performers.
Once again, a wonderful way to end the initial exploration of Stories From My Mother. I'm thankful to have been provided a space to engage others in this conversation and I am excited to see what's next.
-Sindy