8 Ways my Mother was Conceived
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Michaela Di Cesare
September 20, 2012
What is your job on this show?
playwright, actor.
Do you consider yourself a writer who also performs, an actor who also writes, or something else?
This is a very good question because it's been coming up a lot lately. I was even denied a grant that was intended for writers and performers, but not someone who does both on the same project. People need labels, they need to put you in a box so that you make sense to them. So they know in what way you threaten them and what they do. I consider myself a storyteller, plain and simple. I tell stories with words: whether I'm writing them or performing them, my aim is to tell you a damn good story.
Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in United Solo that...?
Stars a virgin who goes to see a gynecologist, a psychic, and her high school sex ed teacher all in the same hour!
In your own words, what do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
This show is about the stories we tell and why we tell them. It's about women rewriting their own histories. Audiences will walk out wanting to shout their own stories from the rooftops.
Which cartoon character would you identify your show with: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Marge Simpson?
Mickey Mouse! He's gotta be a virgin, right? The pants are permanently drawn on-- and they have suspenders! Plus, my nickname in the play is Mousetrap (because I snap my legs shut).
Who are your heroes?
Women everywhere. Women who are talking, writing, fighting, reading, dreaming, living-- women who care and are making a difference. I write and I perform for every woman who never could, and I am inspired by every single one who does.
