Why We Have A Body
By Claire Chafee
Directed by Christina Martin-Wright
Why We Have a Body won many awards including the San Francisco Dramalogue Award, the Bay Area Critic's Circle Award for original script, and Newsday's George Oppenheimer Award, presented annually for the most impressive debut of an American playwright.
The play proceeds poetically and looks into the transportation of the female psyche. These women are taught few skills with which to navigate their lives. In each case, the women's chosen fields are a flight from traditional roles, propelled by a fear of getting stuck in a groove of routine. Along the journey, there are virtually no female role models to help guide them to paths of fulfillment.
Through contrasts and contradictions, Chafee presents the struggle and search of these four women in a kaleidoscopic form, shifting space and time, as each character finds her own road signs to point the way. Captivated by the lyrical language and poetic imagery of the piece, director Christina Martin-Wright felt compelled to share with the community a story that she feels "every woman can relate to".
Produced by StageQ in the Evjue at The Gerald Bartell Community Theatre, 113 East Mifflin, Madison, Wisconsin.
Performances: Nov 1 -23, 2002
Why We Have a Body plays Thursdays through Saturdays, November 1-23, 2002 (Thursdays, 7:30pm, Fridays & Saturdays, 8pm).
Tickets are $12 for all shows and may be purchased or reserved online at www.StageQ.com or reserved by calling StageQ reservations at 608.204.0306.
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The Cast
Mickey Crocker (most recently seen in The Vagina Monologues and Mercury's Stop Kiss) plays Eleanor, a bilingual-archaeologist-historian of the female brain, who paddles alone up the Amazon River, acknowledging her regrets and past mistakes, but managing to evolve beyond the role of 'just being a mother'.
Abbie Hill (founding member of Flaming Dykasaurus; wrote, directed and starred in Oblivia) plays Renee, a married paleontologist, blooming with her sexual awakening and suddenly having to redefine herself both as a woman and a lesbian.
Lisa Konoplisky (StageQ's The Twilight of the Golds) portrays Lili, a lesbian private investigator, who yearns to find a romantic connection, to forge a relationship with a woman where she can be the hidden mystery.
Heather Stickeler (recent stage credits include Madison Repertory Theatre, Mercury Players, Strollers Theatre, and Millenium Theatre) plays Mary, a mentally unstable criminal who seeks a way to come in touch with her shattered family by confronting and accepting her fragmented past.