January 22, 2001
Three outstanding artists were on campus this month exploring motherhood from
the perspective of the African-American female experience. Director and filmmaker
Demetria Royals, an associate professor of Contemporary Arts at Ramapo College;
choreographer and performer Anita Gonzalez, an assistant professor of theater
at Florida State University; and theater artist Robbie McCauley, an assistant
professor of theater and dance at Trinity College, are combining their talents
for the Mother Courage Project. Their efforts will result in a multi-media restaging
of Bertolt Brecht's classic play of struggle and survival within the historical
context of the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era.
The project began with a three-week residency at the Institute on the Arts
and Civic Dialogue at Harvard University in association with the American Repertory
Theatre and the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute.
The second phase - a two-week residency at Montclair State - was funded by
the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Artist as Catalyst program. The artists' goal
here was to create a new text from the perspective of the African-American female
experience. The artists will return to campus in March to present scenes from
their work-in-progress. Following the presentation, the artists and invited
guests will participate in a panel discussion, "The Collusion between Archetype
and Stereotype: Black Motherhood."
The third phase of the project, which has received a $25,000 grant from The
Rocke- feller Foundation and a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for
the Arts, is being developed. Lindsay Gambini of Arts Programming said a workshop
production will be held in July and the fully-staged production will be presented
on campus as part of the tour.