Mother’s Milk and Moon Cookies Description
…….what we have done to the earth, we have done to women’s bodies, but
“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be a part of your revolution.”
Emma Goldman
A three act play with music about a woman who experiences a raising of consciousness while surviving domestic violence. She has a dream and is visited by 13 goddesses from the world religions. They gather in Assisi Italy, for “The First Goddess Pot Luck Party” reminiscent of Leonardo De Vinci’s famous painting, “The Last Supper.” Frances of Assisi is their host and the guest list includes, Grand Mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, The Black Madonna, a Tibetan Buddhist- Green Tara, a Hindu goddess- Shakti, Hagar a Moslem from the Bible-the Mother of Mohammed, Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc who shape shifts into Harriet Tubman, the General Sherman Tree one of the largest living creatures on earth, a mother Polar Bear, Sally Ride first woman in space, the first ordained women in America, Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Shekinah an owl named Sophia and a dog named Shadow. They eat, pray, sing, dance, and talk about saving the humans, tell jokes, and for a special party treat, Sally Ride takes them all for a ride to the moon where they see their oneness with all of creation and share a new kind of communion ritual eating and drinking,
This interactive multimedia play includes well known gospel and contemporary music and the audience is invited to sing, pray, join a new religious ritual and dance along.
Rev. Bonnie will direct this play in workshop with women from the world religions inviting everyone to enjoy meaningful, playful, and celebratory interfaith dialogue, friendship and religious exploration.
Mother’s Milk and Moon Cookies 12 Step Vision
By Rev Bonnie Tarwater
The production and workshop of Mother’s Milk and Moon Cookie hopes to inspire dreams, visions and the creative imagination with a 12 Step Program.
- Producing and directing, a new play, Mother’s Milk and Moon Cookies and making a video of the rehearsal process and a final performance.
- Engaging the cast and crew in a “new play rehearsal process” of revising the script in rehearsals as we use improvisations etc. to further develop the characters anddialogue. This will be particularly exciting as women from the religions of their characters have personal experience I as the playwright do not have.
- Making the rehearsals intentionally loving and non-critical in order to encourage the artist within to become uninhibited. This is not the way most professional theater projects are conducted. Becoming intentional about doing creative work, not for the final product, but for the process of our shared loving and sacred creative practice, in my experience, makes for unusually beautiful end products.
- Utilizing dream group sharing as a part of rehearsals and meetings as well as interfaith prayer, guided meditations, active imaginations, affirmations etc. These spiritual practices will be explored as a means to access this Mystery we call God for revelation and creative potential.
- Exploring the integration of both psychological and religious language and concepts by exploring root metaphors, narrative story and embodying visions with improvisation and theater games etc.
- Casting women from the different religions of their characters in order to encourage interfaith and multi faith friendship, sharing, exploration and learning. We will revise the script with the input of the actresses and hope this will infuse their intimate perspectives and insights of the characters they are portraying from their own religious and personal experiences.
- Creating new multifaith religious rituals that affirm women, challenge the patriarchy of the world religions, and enliven and inspire our religious imaginations.
- Educating about the social and psycho-spiritual effects of power over relationship in domestic violence and war. How can we transform and heal from all power over relationships using our imagination, visions, dreams and the creative process in intentional community?
- Exploring how working with women about feminist issues and using feminist nonhierarchical principals affects the feelings, experiences and end product of this creative process.
- Discussing and reflecting on how we can heal from domestic violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with the creative process, dream work and feminist ideas within intentionally beloved community.
- Experimenting with creative ways we can interact with an audience during a theatrical production.
- Discuss and reflect on the roles of theologian-as-artist and artist-as-minister for everyone involved.
