Weaving Our Sisters' Voices
What are stories of long ago that could empower and inspire, but be primarily attributable to women? What are the stories about women from Scripture who made choices and took actions that could inspire today’s audience?
Stories of men from the past are certainly interesting, but I have always been pulled to the lesser known stories of women in the Bible. Having produced and directed a contemporary production of the Medieval Mysteries, it was clear to me that stories from Scripture could still resonate with an audience if produced with a deft artistic hand. Throughout that 2002 production of the Medieval Mysteries, I became inspired to discover other equally powerful stories centered on women that also deserved to be told.
Weaving Our Sisters' Voices was prompted by my initial search for scriptural women's stories, which then developed into a series of poetry from a fruitful collaboration with Dr. Linda Schearing. Once written, I took over as primary artist - directing and developing the script into living and breathing performances.
2010 Woman with Child
Photo Courtesy of Summer Berry
I staged and toured three productions of the show, each contributing in its own ways and each bringing further depth of experience. The first iteration of Weaving Our Sisters’ Voices came in the form of a workshop touring production (2006 Tour), the second as a mainstage production for the Gonzaga Theatre Program (2010 Production) and third as a more fully developed mainstage production for Gonzaga (2015 Production). I discovered with each version of Weaving Our Sisters’ Voices that these stories continued to demand to be told over and over, with new sets of students, new audiences and new interdisciplinary collaborations.
Cast of 2015 production dancing.
Photo Courtesy of Leslie Stamoolis and Courtney Smith
In some ways, directing a theatrical production is like falling in love. With theatre, one thinks about the show all the time; new discoveries and inspirations come about in the strangest places - in the shower, driving to work, at four in the morning… The creative juices flow as this relationship with the story, cast, and design processes develop over time. Each moments of inspiration become a fresh rekindling of the beloved creative process. To that end, this is a love story.
But being in love makes us vulnerable, and one must have faith in oneself.
Suzanne Ostersmith