Medallions and Symbolism

When we came to this conclusion that the structure of the play would begin with the "Levite’s Concubine" and the subsequent stories would represent a healing of that Concubine, I knew I needed a strong physical element to visaully represent this healing. 

I had a vision of a medallion that could act as this symbol.  It would be presented whole as the story began, and illustrate the violence in the "Levite's Concubine" as it is torn apart.  At the moment the Levite cuts the concubine into 12 pieces, the performers could tear the set down and place it in a semi-circle denoting the stage space.  Then each of the pieces would be added back to the original location to heal this unnamed concubine's story – creating a cathartic theatrical experience along with a call to action.

Once we had the unifier of the medallion, other specific elements fell into place.  We wondered what to title our production, and in the end we fully embraced the name Weaving Our Sisters’ Voices.  Each word was carefully chosen:

Weaving: This was not a chronological telling of the various stories, but instead a tapestry woven together from the many lives these stories represented.

Our: We wanted a direct connection to these stories and our contemporary lives.   They are not just stories from the past, but all of our stories.

Sisters’: The sense that these are not just random ‘others’ but part of our family.  We are all connected even through time.

Voices: We were giving voice to the voiceless, helping others find their voice through these stories.

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Ostersmith

One of my dance minors at the time, Christie Ann Hofland was an art major and I asked her help in creating a logo.  All I offered her was the title, and from those four words this image was the first she showed me and I was immediately delighted.

The weaving and women are evident, but I also appreciate the three dimensional quality to the image and the simple circles on their heads which allude to scriptural times without limiting one’s imagination from the viewing.  This was such a lovely visual version of Weaving Our Sisters’ Voices that it became the set piece that was to be torn apart and built together again.

Suzanne Ostersmith