What Mama Said
Published August 30, 2004
Sia Amma is Down for the Count Writer/Performer of "What Mama Said About 'Down There' Encourages Dialogue about SEX between Mothers and DaughtersTime: 8 p.m.San Francisco, CA---Live entertainment takes a sharp downward turn on September 10th as "What Mama Said About 'Down There'" launches its one-month run at the Burie Clay Theater at the African American Art & Culture Complex at 762 Fulton Street in San Francisco.
Largely political, a bit clinical, inherently sexual and utterly unforgettable, "What Mama Said About 'Down There'" is the latest performance piece from writer/performer/activist Sia Amma. Directed by Gloria Weinstock, the lighthearted comedy takes a trip "down there" to get the lowdown on what mothers say (or don't say) about those "nether regions" and the effect their
communication style has on their daughters.Armed with insight, biting wit and gentle humor, the play features a lively multicultural female cast and a "True Confessions" presentation format that takes a page from beauty parlor fodder of the 50s. As the play unfolds, Amma takes fifties-style sexual repression out for a spin and
hangs it up to dry."What Mama Said About 'Down There'" utilizes the art of playful storytelling to spotlight sexual politics, social codes and hidden issues at the root of what's "down there". By initiating dialogues and diffusing tension with humor, the play hopes to serve as a bridge to frank discussions of sexuality and more honest communication between mothers and daughters.
"Down There' is the companion piece to "Clitoris Celebration-Think Outside the Box", its subject matter style bearing witness to Ammas' flair for wry humor and penchant for communication. The founder of Global Women Intact (GWI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending female circumcision through education, information and outreach, Amma has witnessed firsthand the most brutal examples of damages borne by misinformation, silence, fear and ignorance.Calendar Information
Dates: Fridays and Saturdays, September 10-11, September 17-18, October 1-2
and October 8-9 2004.Time: 8 p.m.
Location: African American Art & Culture Complex
The Buriel Clay Theater
762 Fulton Street (near Webster)
San Francisco, CA 94102Cost: Sliding scale: $12-$20.
Tickets are available at the door or at www.celebrateclitoris.comFree parking is available.
Press Contact:
Ave Montague
avem@sbcglobal.net
(415) 346-0199
Location: African American Art & Culture Complex
The Buriel Clay Theater
762 Fulton Street (near Webster)
San Francisco, CA 94102
Cost: Sliding scale: $12-$20.
Tickets are available at the door or at www.celebrateclitoris.com
Free parking is available.
Press Contact:
Ave Montague
avem@sbcglobal.net
(415) 346-0199
- What Mama Said
- Published: August 30, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Culture: Arts
- Writer: sungoddess
- sungoddess's BC Writer page
- sungoddess's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
FGM is one of the most disgusting and degrating thing i have ever heard of. i feel sorry for all these women who have to go through with this operation due to their heritages or parents commands.
The show was very moving. It was especially meaningful for me being that my mother and father told me nothing about down there. The respectful and meaningful way Sia Amma presented the show in which the body was discussed was well helpful to me. The discussion about the vulva helped me connect to my own body at the moment when I really needed to know myself. Her shows are a gift to me and others women who are made to feel useless about their bodies. And considering she speaks 4 to 5 different languages, I think she is a wonderful performer and a great writer.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/19234)
Despite the subject matter- mothers, daughters, sex communication, gender politics, and so on- giving ample room to challenge, find humor, and initiate audience growth, What Mama Said About Down There is quite possibly the worst preformance peice that I have ever seen. It is one woman's attempt to over personalize her own experience and berate the audience into thinking that by saying words like flap trap or vulva that they are being enriched and given tools to effectively talk to future generations of young woman about sexually coming of age.
Not only does the act start with Sia asking the people present to devulge private moments of their lives (and let me tell you, no safe space was set up for this type of "group" work) she continues to humilitae, berate, hassle, and mock participants through out the show.
And then there is the acting, which is a poor attempt at improve. Clearly there was never a script, or ryhm or reason to the charachter development. It is at times, most times, incoherent and nonsensical. She flails around, and each skit is the same charachter, the only difference are the insulting and poorly done accents that distinguish valley girl from lesbian, french woman from asian woman. She makes grotesque assumptions about her own charachters, racist assumptions, class assumptions, AND, on more than one occasion, makes these same assumptions of the audience. It was a wonder that not every one walked out all at once. People were violated, insulted and horrified.
It was like watching a terrible car crash, you just can't look away as it unfolds in awful slow motion.
Clearly, this woman is unstable, and all my sympathy for her plight. But to hold people hostage, and to make them pay for what should be entertainment, is a scam that should be stopped. Do not take your daughters, or your mothers, or yourself.