News: Mothers Myths Monsters: Matrophobia at Theaterlab, Nov. 19 and 21

This weekend, Friday, November 19 and Sunday, November 21, 2021 at 6 pm, Theaterlab will present MOTHERS MYTHS MONSTERS: Matrophobia, curated by Stefanie Nelson and featuring Maya Orchin, Boris Willis, and Maria Takeuchi (ÉMU). 

MOTHERS MYTHS MONSTERS is a female artist-led residency series presenting short works focused on the comforting and sometimes terrifying figure of the Mother, with bodies at once fecund and ferocious; the complex Myths that shape our personal and collective identities; and/or the repulsive yet riveting Monster. This year’s iteration of this series, Matrophobia, will feature three short-form pieces centered around the titular fear of becoming like one’s mother and the space/s we make to accommodate this fear. Curator Stefanie Nelson uses this term (coined by the poet Lynn Sukenick) as a starting point for exploration of questions such as how we position ourselves in opposition or agreement with our own mothers, how we shape our relationship with them, and how we judge our mothers’ achievements and failures in relation to our own lives. Is becoming like one’s mother an inescapable fate, or is it a matter of choice? The participating artists use a variety of modalities, from dance to digital media to music – to investigate and illuminate this complex topic.

The featured pieces are:

flip
By Maya Orchin
Performed by Stefanie Nelson

A solo dance that delves into what it means to be a mother and our relationships to our own mothers. Through discussions about complicated but loving bonds, the piece flips between perspectives and plays with ideas of femininity, exploring roles we give ourselves and those thrust upon us.

Hey Mu!
By Boris Willis
A multimedia project by Boris Willis utilizes animation and virtual projections in a 3D environment, mixing sounds, photos, and videos of the artist’s mother and maternal grandmother. Through stories they tell, the audience is introduced to moments from the past and experiences that shaped the artist as a person.

undulation
By ÉMU | Maria Takeuchi
An audiovisual piece that expresses the repetitive yet irregular myths of the mother by capturing the movement and the sound of the ocean.The ocean, a symbol of mother, is the birthplace of living things. The tidal force caused by the gravitation of the moon is a mystery of the sacred power of birth. Yet, we are here to repeat whether we want it or avoid it.

Theaterlab is ocated at 357 W 36th St, 3rd floor, and tickets are $10 (they can be purchased here).