Fifteen women raised their voices in anger, celebration, pain and laughter Tuesday night at the second Untamed Shrews show of Fall term. The Shrews, a collaborative women's theatrical group, drew a full audience to Epsilon Kappa Theta as the members performed excerpts from various works of writing by and about women. Their overall message was one of empowerment and survival through the spoken word: "I tell you because I will not be silenced," said one woman in "Remember," a piece about incest.
This fall the Shrews' emphasis is very much on theater, although they hold no auditions and welcome any woman into their group. They have clearly taken advantage of the drama majors scattered in their midsts--the acting was excellent and creative. The twenty-four pieces varied in tone, using both humor and strong emotion to express what it means to be a woman, keeping the audience in stitches one minute, commanding perfect silence the next. Their primary themes were eating disorders and sexual assault and abuse, though they also addressed breast cancer, sexuality, menstruation and Barbie, among other topics. One of the highlights of the show was a short skit called "Penis Envy," a mime of the injustice of ladies' and gentlemens' bathrooms.
The pieces about food -- particularly, obsession with food -- were especially resonant. The whole ensemble began the show with "Picture," written by Suzanne Breselor '97, a portrait of a girl slowly killing herself through starvation and compulsive exercise.
"Picture a girl who's finally found something to control, who doesn't know she's lost all control," one woman recited. In a longer piece called "Eating," four women spoke of discipline and deprivation, desire and self-loathing: "Food is my prison, my pain, my poison ... food is ritual, magical, mystical." Later in the show, Nicole Wiley '98 performed a Joyce Carol Oates story called "The Orange," evoking a terrifying neurosis with a piece of fruit and an imaginary circle on the floor.
Complementing the more original skits were two powerful narratives about rape and survival. Both Lauren Lieberman '95 and Suzanne Breselor '97 pulled a chair to center stage and delivered monologues that left several members of the audience in tears. Breselor, who wrote three of the four pieces by Dartmouth students, performed what she had written with composure and dignity.
The two pieces written from a lesbian point of view were completely opposite in tone, one shocking and painful, the other witty and self-mocking. Kari McCadam '97 told the story of a woman who had lost her partner in a brutal stalking and murder. On the lighter side, "Dancing Sisters" was a skit about a lesbian missing both her old girlfriend and her large intestine, who then finds herself with her "straight sister in a dyke bar." This piece was as much about entertainment as education.
Although in past terms the Shrews have been labelled radical feminists, the group's content this fall steers away from the political. One conciliatory piece entitled "I Do Not Hate You" was addressed to men and stood in great contrast to the renowned fury of previous Shrews. Their finale, "Memories to Keep," did take a stronger political stance though, speaking out against violence against women. One by one, each of the fifteen Shrews named women who had been killed by their husbands or boyfriends, along with their ages, which began at 15.
The Shrews' main objective is to provoke thought, to get people to question themselves and the issues raised in the show. Although the audience was clearly affected by the performance, only five people stayed for the discussion afterward. The performers relaxed on couches and spoke about wanting more pieces written by College women and more men in their audiences. When asked if they ever performed in fraternities, the Shrews answered with a resounding "no." Diane Whitmer '97 described the issue as one of "comfort level."
Other questions concerned the content of the performance. One woman felt the show this fall was more reactionary than celebratory; another questioned the validity of playing a character whose experience is inherently different than the actor's own, such as a 50-year-old woman with breast cancer. Several Shrews defended themselves, speaking of empathy and their ability to immerse themselves in the experience of another woman, no matter how foreign. When asked about the absence of any pieces about racism or issues important to women of color, the Shrews admitted this to be a difficult case.
Lieberman explained that they had been criticized in the past for being primarily a white women's theater group and presuming to understand women of color's experiences. She said she wished more women of color would join the Shrews. The rest of the group agreed and expressed frustration at the way this issue had limited them.
Overall, the Untamed Shrews delivered a creative, thoughtful and entertaining performance, one well worth attending and sticking around to discuss. They will be performing tonight in the Hyphen at 7 p.m. and Saturday in Brace Commons at 4 p.m.
