New WORLD Theater
presents
MEDITATION WITH
THE GODDESS
“What does
it mean to be well? ” Rha Goddess asks the audience. It is summer and we have
just witnessed a profoundly moving performance that at its onset forced us to
think about sanity, insanity and how those labels are used in our society. Each
seat in the small black box theater had a card placed on it. On the card, one
word was written and depending on your seat, you were labeled either “sane” or
“insane.” During the performance, Rha asked certain audience members, “What are
you?” and each audience member answered accordingly. This exchange highlighted
one of the core questions in Meditations with the Goddess, a summer play
lab production in the New Works for a New WORLD summer season at New WORLD
Theater last June. New WORLD Theater, based at the Fine Arts Center at the
University of Massachusetts, is a regional and national leader dedicated to
presenting and producing theatrical works by artists of color. Since 1979 they
have built up a reputation within the community for creative collaborations and
presenting quality theater for the community. New WORLD Theater’s support of
emerging artists and work comes in the form of rehearsal residencies,
production labs, artistic support, research, and documentation and helps shape
the national portrait of theater in the United States. Meditations with the
Goddess returns to New WORLD Theater February 3 for the next phase of
development before moving into the national spotlight.
Meditations with the Goddess is a modern
trilogy that traverses the rocky and often treacherous terrain of the human psyche.
Three contemporary goddesses emerge from the underworld to aid Rha in her
autobiographical search for universal and personal truth. The goddesses:
Lowquesha, a schizophrenic rap artist, Medina, a bible-thumpin’ stripper, and
Devina, a Shiite soccer mom, each bring forth a question and clear the way for
authentic exploration. Some of the stopping points on this journey are female
sexuality and power, mental well-being, substance abuse, domestic violence,
materialism, and our society’s ever-increasing reliance on technology.
Rha Goddess, artist, poet, and social
activist, takes us on this journey that is both personal and political;
something that is no surprise from this leading performance and recording
artist known for her unique blend of spoken word consciousness and hip hop
energy. She leads a stellar collaborative team that brings together artists of
national and international acclaim. She is also pushing the boundaries of
performance through her collaboration with Shade Interactive, the design branch
of Made in da Shade, a theater group in Amsterdam. Shade Interactive is a
leader in technology and performance whose live interaction techniques work
with the performers to create innovative images and sounds.
Lenora Pace is both the director and
co-developer of Meditations with the Goddess whose credits include two
Helen Merrill Writing Award Winners: Tracey S. Wilson’s Exhibit #9 and I
Don't Know Why That Caged Bird Won't Shut Up and Tanya Barfield’s Pecan
Tan. She also directed We Got Issues at the Apollo Theatre, Emergence-See
by Daniel Beaty at the Chashama Theatre in NYC, Throw Pitchfork by
Alexander Thomas at New York Theatre and the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, New
York. Baba Israel is a hip-hop performing and recording artist who has
toured the USA, Europe and Australia. He released a full length album called MIND
MUSIC on Velour Records and is currently recording a new album with his
project Open Thought. This year he performed with Full Circle at the New Victory
Theater. Rennie Harris is an acclaimed choreographer and pioneer in hip-hop
aesthetics and education whose production Legends of Hip Hop is
currently running at the New Victory Theater in New York.
The play will be performed at 8:00 PM on
Thursday, February 3, 2005 at the Northampton Center for the Arts, located at
17 New South Street, Suite 303 in Northampton, MA. Tickets are $15 for general
admission; $8 for senior citizens and low- income patrons; and $5 for students
with valid ID and children. For reservations, please call 1-800-999-UMAS or
413-545-2511 or reserve online at:
www.umass.edu/fac/centerwide/tickets.
Meditations with the Goddess
Written and performed by Rha Goddess; Directed and co-developed by Lenora Pace; Choreography by Rennie Harris; Sound Design by Baba Israel and Darrin Ross; Interaction Design by Shade Interactive. Meditations with the Goddess has been co-commissioned by New WORLD Theater along with 651 Arts in Brooklyn, New York and the National Performance Network Creation Fund and exemplifies New WORLD Theater’s new play development process. n