PWTF 2018 explores a tough job for artists: Motherhood

When is the last time that you attended a play reading where it was okay for kids to hang out with their parents in the audience and breastfeeding was welcome in the theater? If your answer was “never,” the Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival (PWTF) invites you to a new kind of theater experience. The fourth annual festival, themed “Motherhood in Theater” takes place August 2 through 5 at Center City’s Music Theatre Philly, presented in partnership with the Parent-Artist Advocacy League (PAAL).

“One of the hardest jobs for anyone”

“Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs for anyone and even harder for people in theater,” says PWTF co-founder and artistic director Polly Edelstein. “By dedicating our 2018 festival to motherhood in the arts, PWTF hopes to create a world where motherhood is accepted, celebrated, and supported in the arts.” The four new plays for adults that make up the festival focus broadly on the topic of motherhood and share a variety of themes and stories. (Here’s a video preview.)

This year’s readings

Alessandra Most’s Refrigerator Mother (August 4 at 3pm) tells the story of a mother in the 1950s, when the prevailing wisdom blamed autism on lack of nurturing from a mother. Monica Flory’s Brown-Eyed Rapunzel (August 3 at 6:30pm) explores the relationship of a white mom and her mixed-race daughter. Emma Goldman-Sherman’s Zen and the Art of Mourning a Mother (August 5 at 3pm) follows three generations of women across three different moments in time. “Bring tissues,” the festival organizers say.

The playwrights featured in the festival have experienced firsthand the challenges of working in the theater and mothering. For Emma Gibson, whose play Water In My Hands explores the power of grief, “my experience as a mother and as a theater artist has been challenging. There is usually a lot of guilt. There is never enough time.” She recalls the day her sitter didn’t turn up when she was set to film a Kickstarter video for her theater company — and so she decided to integrate the kids right into the video. You can hear Water in My Hands on August 2 at 6:30pm.

Up at 4am

Finding time to write when juggling family responsibilities is also its own challenge. Monica Flory wakes up to write at 4am, since her kids sleep until 6:30am. “I scrawl dialogue on Post-It notes while I'm making breakfast. I try to think in longer spans of time. My process is messier, more fractured and scattered than before kids. But my hunger for writing hasn't diminished — if anything, it's stronger than before, because I want to write a better world for my daughters,” she says.

Childcare and networking

In addition to play readings for adults, the festival will feature an interactive musical play for children. The King Who Wanted to Clean the Moon, by Ashley Kerns (with music by Damien Figueras), runs in the childcare studio concurrently with the adult events. PWTF will also host games and crafts for the kiddos. Drop-offs for the kids’ show and childcare begin 30 minutes before each reading.

The festival also includes two special events. On Saturday, August 4, from 1 to 2:30pm, there’s an informal afternoon of networking dedicated to mothers of color in the arts, led by Philly artist Christina May. The next afternoon at 1:30pm, there’s an hour-long “Moms on the Move” movement workshop with Renee Chambers-Liciaga. Childcare is provided for both events.

The Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival runs Thursday, August 2, through Sunday, August 5. Tickets to the readings are $10 (a ticket to a reading includes the kids’ performance for any accompanying children). Family-ready festival passes ($30-$50) are also available. Visit online for details.

Above: An ensemble performance from last year's festival. (Image courtesy of PWTF.)