Female multi-cultural ensemble presents autobiographical drama in ‘Herstory’

“It’s really challenging for me but rewarding in a collaborative environment to co-direct this play, ‘Unraveling Herstory’ with Chia-Wen Lin,” said Emily Burkes-Nossiter who directed the original Oakland, California 2003 production. She’s now living in NDG. Working with only women actors – seven in all, Burkes-Nossiter revealed that she finds great value in telling women’s stories. “Their voices are largely silenced and devalued in so many cultures. ‘Unraveling Herstory’ retrieves the wisdom in women’s stories.”

What’s exciting about this production is it embraces personal stories of family. The play reveals the various cultures represented by the actors who wrote their own testimonies. Collectively, the stories reveal varying ancestral origins: Vietnam, Trinidad, China, Slovakia, Eastern Europe and other countries. “Our intention is for participants to acquire the tools to become role models and leaders in the communities, teaching others how to work together across lines of diversity to resolve the problems that we confront as a society,” said Burkes-Nossiter.

Talia Weisz, a published poet, also has a double major B.A. in creative writing and Anthropology from Concordia University. She is thrilled to be a part of this multi-media play of music, acting, spoken word and film projections. “I’m passionate about story telling and sharing stories in an open cross cultural context. My grandparents survived the Holocaust. My grandfather was a resistance fighter in Slovakia and my grandmother was in hiding along with her two babies. Their story including some grey areas impacted on me. I found out through my father and his relatives. My story is about growing up in the aftermath of their experience.”

Weisz who was born in Montreal, noted that growing up after these events occurred created a tension in her grandparents’ household. “I really didn’t know exactly the whole story, but I sensed an undercurrent of tension. Now, this play allows me to explore it.”

Mimi Zhou who has a degree in graphic design comes from China. She also experienced tensions in her family: “The reason I want to tell my story is because I feel there is a disconnect between me and my parents. They immigrated here when I was 16. My story relates to how my mother grew up during the Cultural Revolution. She was very Communist. She was rigid, very disciplined and patriotic. I feel she was brain washed and I grew up in a strict household. The goal of my story is to relate her experience growing up compared to mine. She grew up in an extreme repressed environment,” said Zhou noting that this project forced her to confront and feel this past. The preparation demanded serious soul searching.

Interestingly, Burkes-Nossiter who is also a drama therapist works with the actors as does NDGer Chia-Wen Lin, another drama therapist. The stories are incredibly captivating even horrific. Death and escape are common themes. Whether detailed or abstract the emotion is always at peak performance. “Living the immigration experience is alienating both in the home and outside it,” said Zhou. “What drives me to tell the story is to try to connect with it all.”

Still, even though the desire to tell their stories is keen, sharing them with an audience is another story. “Writing it all down, figuring out the form and then how we want to present and weave our stories together is a great challenge, but it’s been very rewarding,” said Zhou.

Weisz noted, it’s not traditional theatre. After hearing some of their stories, I can say ‘Unraveling Herstory’ surpasses the confines of status quo theatre content. ‘Unraveling Herstory’ starts September 27th and runs until Sunday September 30th. It’s palying at Concord University’s Cazalet Theatre, Loyola Campus, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West. For ticket information, call (514) 488-4124. The website is www.commonthreadproductions.org.

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