Grandmothers of the Universe

solo performance · project sheba · Ages 16+ · United States

one person show

Miri has been asked to speak at a conference on the subject of being an African American woman. She discovers that the answer to what it’s like to be an African American woman could only be explained by experiencing the songs, poetry and stories of her ancestral grandmothers. GMU is a re-telling of these ancestral tales.

CAST OF CHARACTERS
MIRI
- a woman in her mid-thirties of mixed ethnic and racial ancestry, primarily African American
DEODI
- a woman of Native American ancestry
WILLIE
- a woman who traces her ancestry back to the Africans who were brought to America via the Middle Passage
ESTHER
- a woman who traces her ancestry back to Yemen, but who “currently” resides in Israel
LOUISA
- A woman of Western European heritage, a mixture of English and French heritage

MAKEDA
- The Queen of Sheba

SARAH
- a young girl around the age of 7 or 8, who is Miri’s Granddaughter

PRODUCTION NOTES
The actor playing Miri plays all of the characters. Deodi, Willi, Esther and Louisa and Makeda are Miri’s ancestral grandmothers This does not imply that the characters are old enough to be grandmothers. It denotes that they are grandmothers inasmuch as they are Miri’s ancestors. Sarah is Miri’s granddaughter.

Production Team


* Fringe Veteran