Meditations with the Goddess

Written and performed by Rha Goddess; Directed and co-developed by Lenora Pace; Choreography by Rennie Harris; Sound Design by Baba Israel and Darrin Ross; Interaction Design by Shade Interactive.

“What does it mean to be well? ” Rha Goddess asks an audience in the Curtain Theater. It is summer and we have just witnessed a profoundly moving performance that at its onset forced us to think about sanity, insanity and how those labels are used in our society. Each seat in the small black box theater had a card placed on it. On the card, one word was written and depending on your seat, you were labeled either “sane” or “insane.” During the performance, Rha asked certain audience members, “What are you?” and each audience member answered accordingly. This exchange highlighted one of the core questions in Meditations with the Goddess, a summer play lab production in the New Works for a New WORLD summer season at New WORLD Theater last June. The piece was co-commissioned by New WORLD Theater along with 651 Arts in Brooklyn, New York and the National Performance Network Creation Fund and exemplifies New WORLD Theater’s new play development process. New WORLD Theater’s support of emerging artists and work comes in the form of rehearsal residencies, production labs, artistic support, research, and documentation and helps shape the national portrait of theater in the United States. Meditations with the Goddess returns to New WORLD Theater this February for the next phase of development before moving into the national spotlight.

Meditations with the Goddess is a modern trilogy that traverses the rocky and often treacherous terrain of the human psyche. Three contemporary goddesses emerge from the underworld to aid Rha in her autobiographical search for universal and personal truth. The goddesses: Lowquesha, a schizophrenic rap artist, Medina, a bible-thumpin’ stripper, and Devina, a Shiite soccer mom, each bring forth a question and clear the way for authentic exploration. Some of the stopping points on this journey are female sexuality and power, mental well-being, substance abuse, domestic violence, materialism, and our society’s ever-increasing reliance on technology.

Rha Goddess, artist, poet, and social activist, takes us on this journey that is both personal and political; something that is no surprise from this leading performance and recording artist known for her unique blend of spoken word consciousness and hip hop energy. She leads a stellar collaborative team that brings together artists of national and international acclaim. She is also pushing the boundaries of performance through her collaboration with Shade Interactive, the design branch of Made in da Shade, a theater group in Amsterdam. Shade Interactive is a leader in technology and performance whose live interaction techniques work with the performers to create innovative images and sounds.

Lenora Pace is both the director and co-developer of Meditations with the Goddess whose credits include two Helen Merrill Writing Award Winners: Tracey S. Wilson’s Exhibit #9 and I Don't Know Why That Caged Bird Won't Shut Up and Tanya Barfield’s Pecan Tan. She also directed We Got Issues at the Apollo Theatre, Emergence-See by Daniel Beaty at the Chashama Theatre in NYC, Throw Pitchfork. by Alexander Thomas at New York Theatre and the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, New York.

Baba Israel is a hip-hop performing and recording artist who has toured the USA, Europe and Australia. He released a full length album called MIND MUSIC on Velour Records and is currently recording a new album with his project Open Thought. This year he performed with Full Circle at the New Victory Theater.

Rennie Harris is an acclaimed choreographer and pioneer in hip-hop aesthetics and education whose production Legends of Hip Hop is currently running at the New Victory Theater in New York.

The play will be performed at 8:00 PM on Thursday, February 3, 2005 at the Northampton Center for the Arts, located at 17 New South Street, Suite 303 in Northampton, MA. Tickets are $15 for general admission; $8 for senior citizens and low- income patrons; and $5 for students with valid ID and children. For reservations, please call 1-800-999-UMAS or 413-545-2511 or reserve online at www.umass.edu/fac/centerwide/tickets.