During the month of February I (re)embraced femininity. I became a student of it, learning the ways in which I was deficient and becoming a master of beauty rituals. I performed what I simply call “pretty procedures”. These procedures were influenced by a survey I conducted on women and their feminine maintenance. The process was very much internal. I spent a significant amount of time immersed in media and literature targeted at mainstream women. I studied the art of relationships, fashion, beauty, weight loss and achieving the balance of soft yet strong that eludes the “modern woman”.

Throughout this process, I experienced a spectrum of feelings that ranged from validation to nagging self-doubt. I often times felt foolish and child-like in situations where my feminine attire seemed impractical. I redeveloped complexes about everything from my weight to my ankles. I become conscious of the income earned that was spent on feminine maintenance. I only resisted for a week or so before I found comfort in conforming. People were nice to me when I smiled or demurred. I received compliments. What was a nebulous concept in my personal life become crystallized: Pretty is a physical and mental state of being.

I also spent the month talking with other women about their feminine maintenance. The conversation would begin with the confusing axiom that femininity is necessary and innate, and so too are the measures one takes to achieve it. As one woman remarked, “It’s just what you do.” Another woman said she enjoyed the time she takes to become beautiful—it’s “time spent on me”. However, when some women started to verbally dissect everything they do to create the appearance they find most acceptable, they were often startled, overwhelmed or just plain exhausted. When the mechanics of their beauty ritual was laid bare, there was a defeated realization that their ability to exist as merely human beings did not need to hinge on their feminine maintenance. It was their gendered experience that was dependent on their willingness and ability to perform “woman” in their daily lives.

Every Woman is Patty Hearst
Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express adulation and have positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, essentially mistaking a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness. Stockholm syndrome can be classified as a coping mechanism for people experiencing dangerous and traumatic situations and for women, the patriarchy is a perpetual state of dangerous and traumatic situations.

Femininity is a survival tactic that allows us—as social creatures—to participate in a civilized, capitalistic, patriarchal, heteronormative society. Society forces us to desire protection, procreation and wealth under terms we don’t define for ourselves. To this end, women who perform femininity are given greater access to employment, romantic companionship, peer acceptance and inclusion. In exchange for permission to live in a societal structure they did not create, women who follow the rules experience low self-esteem, poor body image, physical discomfort, harassment and the threat of rape. Similarly, women who outright refuse to, or cannot conform are often ostracized from mainstream society, running the risk of the same threats, but without the “benefit” of patriarchal acceptance. Women are captive regardless of how or if we resist. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s study of Stockholm syndrome finds: “In cases where Stockholm syndrome has occurred, the captive is in a situation where the captor has stripped nearly all forms of independence and gained control of the victim’s life, as well as basic needs for survival. Some experts say that the hostage regresses to, perhaps, a state of infancy; the captive must cry for food, remain silent, and exist in an extreme state of dependence….The victim then begins a struggle for survival, both relying on and identifying with the captor. Possibly, hostages’ motivation to live outweighs their impulse to hate the person who created their dilemma.”

In order to survive, women internalize the message of the dominant culture and learn to rely on it and identify with the standards set for us. Women become adherents and enforcers of femininity. We defend it against those who question its validity. Women don’t question the body torture that is feminine maintenance. We willingly participate in a cycle of ceaseless self-scrutiny. We insist that we mutilate and modify our bodies because it makes us feel good. We do it because we have to and that it’s good for our well-being. (Consider how retailers pair health with beauty in their product categories.)

We do it because we can’t fathom anything else.

Femininity, in its practice, is both consistent and ever-changing. The practical applications of femininity are cyclical and part of the effort in being feminine is adapting to how it changes with each season, generation, social, technological or other human advancement. What remains constant is the power femininity has to keep women positioned as the default sex class; a state in which women’s status is defined only in terms of our implied consent, sexuality, sexual capacity and sexual availability.

Femininity has implications beyond gender expression. How a woman performs feminine codes is influenced by her socio-economic status, racial and ethnic identity, physical ability and size. The farther one is removed from dominant culture ideals, the harder it is to perform femininity and thus survive in a mainstream context. 

Maintenance vs. Creation
In her work, Mierle Laderman Ukeles contrasts maintenance and creation. She denotes creation as dynamic, attention-getting and centered on the (male) individual. Conversely, maintenance is tedious, ongoing, invisible and largely associated with women. In my 28 day immersion, I began to understand femininity as a paradox. While it is tedious, there is a degree of artistic merit in feminine posturing. Femininity is dynamic. It is, in many ways, about the individual woman. It is attention-getting. The work women do in the privacy of our bathrooms and salons lays the foundation for the posture we maintain in public spaces.  This does not negate the oppressive nature of femininity, but it helps to understand the balance that women must strike in our gendered existence.

“Do you want me to be pretty, or do you want me to be on time?”
One woman I surveyed asks this of the men in her life when she is confronted with her perpetual tardiness. My participation in this project affirms my belief that femininity is an expensive, life-threatening, time-consuming, deflating practice. It is ubiquitous and pervasive to the point of being invisible. It is drilled into us in utero and can follow us all the way to the grave in a bubblegum pink coffin (Prices start at $2,175). Femininity is something women do to survive, but it’s also what keeps us enslaved. We must eschew feminine practices as part of many revolutionary measures needed to eradicate the patriarchal structure that oppresses all people.

Maria Miranda
March 2011

View photos of the dinner & exhibition in the gallery.

Survival Postures (A Dinner & Exhibition)
Sunday, March 20, 5:30 PM
SPACES
2220 Superior Viaduct
$10 admission.  Please reserve tickets here.

On March 20, SPACES will host Survival Postures, a dinner and exhibition of what happened when twenty people took artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles’s idea that “Art begins at the same level as basic survival systems,” as inspiration for a one-month social experiment. They had one simple assignment: choose a task essential to your survival or well-being that you don’t know how to do, and within the month of February, learn how to do it. 

So, what essential task did Whisper to a Scream's Maria Miranda take on? Beauty and femininity. The theory: All women need to maintain a standard of beauty compliance and feminine behavior in order to survive the heteronormative society in which we live. The practice involves costly, painful and inconvenient measures that alter one's natural appearance to conform to a standard of beauty that all women must achieve. Every. Single. Day. By adhering to these rules and guidelines, women are rewarded with access, companionship, peer acceptance and inclusion. At the same time, women who follow the rules also suffer from low self-esteem, poor body image, physical discomfort, unwanted attention and harassment.

Women who outright refuse to conform are often ostracized from mainstream society and face similar incidences of harassment, low self-esteem and unwanted attention. Furthermore, several studies show that being beautiful positively impacts one's ability to gain employment. If a woman is deemed ugly by heteronormative standards, how does this impact her ability to be economically viable? And if she isn't financially thriving, how does she survive in a capitalist society?

For the entire month of February, Miranda consumed beauty techniques, lessons in femininity and the art of pursuing of male attention. The results of this work will be shared on March 20 at SPACES.

More About the Exhibition:
Cleveland puppeteer Diana Sette worked with a master weaver to learn how to process and spin wool, and built a large-scale “human loom” made out of people.  Emelio DiSabato and Joel Solow shoveled snow on the Abbey Bridge, in order to clear a path on one of the few walkways into Tremont that becomes unpassable to pedestrians and cyclists after snow.  Maria Miranda, of Cleveland’s performance art collective Whisper to a Scream, spent the month being “beauty-compliant,” wearing makeup and fashionable clothes, processing her hair, and consuming the media and products marketed to her to craft a “successful look”.  Carmen Tracey learned how to sew for the first time, making homemade menstrual pads after researching the toxicity of feminine hygiene products.  Daniel Bellinger built a homemade water filter.  Simon and Giulia, members of a New York state farm collective, began the process of brewing a cup tea from scratch and spent the month learning how to decide what trees in a healthy woodland can be harvested for firewood and how to use chainsaws.  

Their resulting survival postures will serve as the centerpiece for SPACES’ first community dinner fundraiser in the style of Chicago’s alternative arts-funding collective, InCUBATE.  The meal will be locally sourced from City Fresh, Green Corps and Erie’s Edge Farm.  Funds will be split among the participating artists.

Organizer Kate Sopko explains the inspiration for Survival Postures.  “We’ve seen a huge growth in interest lately in Cleveland in growing our own food, and generally re-localizing work that provides for our city’s basic needs. That means that a lot of us are confronting head-on how disconnected the work we do to raise income is from the work it takes to produce what we need to live.  It’s become pretty clear that as a culture, we are very much in infancy when it comes to being actors in our own survival.  Survival Postures is about practicing a culture that can take care of itself.”

Saturday, October 23 | 7:00pm | Visible Voice Books | This month only: $3 admission 
For more info contact: shelly@whispertoascream.org 

We are pleased to host She Speaks, a monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event. The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum (including first time writers). We are all writers! We have all kept journals, diaries and written letters. Some of us may be songwriters testing out new lyrics. It is about the power of the written word being spoken, heard and enjoyed.  

Our featured poet, Abigail Carney, will begin at 7:00 and be followed by an open mic at 7:30. All are welcome.  No experience necessary.

NEW for October!
After the open mic, a slam competition hosted by local slam sensation, Akeem Jamal Rollins, will take place, all are welcome to participate.  Here are the rules:  Contestants write their name out on a piece of paper that gets thrown in a hat.  Two names will be chosen and they than flip a coin. The woman that wins the coin toss decides who goes first.  The two poets then perform.  There will be 5 judges and each judge will hold up 1 or 2. There is no 1-10 here, no ties. The poet that loses is then eliminated (or we'll use tally marks depending on turnout) We do this until there is only one poet left standing.

Abigail Carney is October's Feature

Abigail Carney is seventeen and attends Midview High School in Grafton, where she resides. She started slamming a few weeks ago when she happened to have her notebook with her at the first slam she ever attended, at Visible Voice Books. Abigail had been filling up notebooks for a long time and feels being given the opportunity to share her poetry through slamming is amazing. Abigail writes poetry about people and life and death and the ending of things. She also writes prose and drama. Her second play, about a hostage situation, will be produced by her high school this winter. Next year she would like to attend Brown University and study creative writing. Indefinitely, she would like to write.

Stand up. Speak out: Take Back the Night 2010

Click here for the printable pdf.

QWERTY Observation #1
Improvisational dance is a conversation. It is an unedited flaws-and-all dialogue that permits vulnerability and honest exploration. It provides space for a certain sort of consciousness that makes us look inward without judgement. It is perhaps the most freeing of art forms: the use of the body to convey an idea, a feeling, an expression....raw.

QWERTY Observation #2
In terms of non-verbal communication, eye contact is probably the most significant and impactful. Humans of all cultures place value of some kind on the eyes. Eyes are windows to the soul...beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

In Western culture, we consider eye contact a signal of strength, a means of connection, initiation of challenge. It takes on the quality of masculinity and in turn gives credibility and the spoils of victory to whomever can hold the contact the longest. Lovers gaze into each other's eyes, opponents use eye contact for mind games, handshakes are sealed with locked eyes. In situations with power differentials, eye contact from the subordinate is not encouraged because eye contact elevates one's position. Averting one's gaze when confronted with a direct stare is read as a form of surrender.

Lies are often discovered when one feels the speaker did not meet eyes. It's been shown that we can't tell lies while maintaining eye contact and therefore, good liars can tell a fib and stare you in the face. Overall, while we value eye contact, there is often discomfort with direct eye contact. Perhaps this is because it intensifies, for good or bad, the conversation.

So, what happens when we communicate screen-to-screen rather than face-to-face? How do we know that "I love you" is sincere? That the agreement is sealed and transparent? That we're not being deceived? Do eyes lose the value humans have given them for thousands of years with technology's growing role in our communication? Between blinking cursors and LED displays, what becomes the "window to our souls"?

QWERTY Observation #3
There is a lot that is said when nothing is being said. Awkward pauses and dramatic silences fill the space between listener and speaker in a way that embellishes the conversation. One is left to ponder what was just said or what is not being said or what one is about to say. When the silence is an unreturned email or a text that has not been reciprocated, our feelings change. We fill the void with panicked thoughts and assumptions. We draw conclusions based on our worse fears. We make up situations to explain why the recipient hasn't responded. We are wildly creative in these circumstances. These silences become voids, which become gaps in communication...incomplete discourses....

QWERTY Observation #4
Touch in and of itself is an expression. We touch or avoid touch to underline a mood. Contact elevates reinforces an exchange. As children we are often taught to distinguish between "good touch and bad touch" and as we become adults, we carry this distinction with us into our daily interactions. Touches can be comforting, threatening, reassuring or an initiation. We haven't quite figured out how to substitute touch despite being able to do just about everything else with our technology. Have we become so eloquent that our words can create visceral reactions in our audiences? Do our words lose value without the opportunity for contact?

QWERTY premieres September 24-26 at Ingenuity Festival. See you on the bridge.

Saturday, August 14, 2010 | 7:30-10pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Whisper to a Scream is pleased to host the fourth installment of She Speaks, a monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event at Visible Voice Books. The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum (including first time writers). All levels of experience (including none!) are welcome. The event is FREE and open to the public.

This month's theme is 'music'.

We will feature live music to start off the evening. The evening will begin with a feature performer at 7:30pm followed by an all female open mic. Please use the theme "music" as an inspiration for creating your work, you may also share work outside the theme.

Angelisa Crognale of Early Girl & Maura Rogers are August's features.

Angelisa Crognale

Angelisa Crognale has been singing for Cleveland audiences since 2004. Starting solo with just an acoustic guitar and a small repertoire of humorous songs she began her musical journey. Looking for a band all along, she and two friends created a folk trio in 2005 called Slackjaw. The trio was a hit thrilling audiences citywide with harmony-rich sweet Americana cover songs and folky, yet raunchy original material. Then in 2007 the group morphed into local rock band, Early Girl, with an all electric line-up and a larger than life sound. The band has gone through many changes over the past few years, but is now stronger than ever with a grab bag full of unique original material. Angelisa still enjoys getting back to her roots and performing solo as a singer-songwriter. It is a fun way for her to refine her skills as a singer, performer and guitar player.

Maura Rogers

Born, raised, and surviving some brutal Cleveland winters, Maura Rogers has gained a reputation of being “five pounds woman, eight pounds voice.” Her appeal lies greatly in her commanding vocal abilities, her knack for turning a phrase, and her delicate acoustic finger-picking.. Threads of Stevie Nicks, Amy Ray, Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, and Patti Griffin are heard in both her lyrical phrasing and vocal styling. 

She’s drawn in a generous local audience over the past two years, opening and sharing stages with the talented Erin McKeown, Ember Swift, Rosi Golan, Michelle Malone, Alec Stewart, Nina Camps, Steph Taylor and Cleveland’s own Anne E DeChant, Early Girl, Alexis Antes, and Robin Stone.

Maura Rogers’ first full-length album, “Get Up Girl” was released in June of 2010. Jeff Niesel, of Cleveland SCENE, writes “the album features a sparse Cat Power-like sound, showing of Rogers’ quiet, but powerful vocals.”  

Maura spent her summer traveling the East Coast, hitting coffee shops and open mics along the way in an effort to share her music outside of Cleveland. She is currently in the process of planning a MidWest Tour this Fall/Winter.

Saturday, July 10, 2010 | 7:30-9:30pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Visible Voice is pleased to host Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective, as they present She Speaks, a monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event. The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum (including first time writers). We are all writers! We have all kept journals, diaries and written letters. Some of us may be song writers testing out new lyrics. It is about the power of the written word being spoken, heard and enjoyed.

The theme this month is 'renewal'.

All levels of experience are welcome. The format will be open mic: come early and sign up for a time slot. Also, take advantage of several in store promotions including discounted books and a raffle for wine and/or a gift certificate!

Denise Astorino is July's feature. She will be performing Her Mind's Eye:

Denise Astorino is an ALMOST graduate (6 more weeks) from Cleveland State's Theatre department with a concentration in Directing. She will hopefully be attending graduate school in September at East 15 School in London.  For the past 18 years she has been an actor, director, writer and teacher in the Northeast Ohio theatre community working with companies such as CPT, convergence-continuum, The Beck Center, and as Co-Artistic Director of the LGBTQ theatre Wild Plum Productions. She lives in Cleveland Heights with Jay, their two cats and a dog. 

Her Mind's Eye
The name of the piece Astorino is doing is a bit from a one woman show about the lesbian actress Charlotte Cushman. This is a fictional adaptation of her final performance where she did monologues of her famous portrayals of  Hamlet, lady Macbeth and Romeo.  Mixing this with talk about her life and the women she loved.

A Dozen Things I Want To Do On Stage is a new one-woman cabaret by Rebecca Nagle.  Of the dozen, Nagle will undress to "Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte", fit in a small box, tell your secrets, discuss why something is racist, fall in love, read her fantasies, act out your fantasies, induce a tragedy, fall down, take truth serum while letting the audience ask her questions, tell a tall tale, and disembowel herself.

Using the format of 1920’s political European cabaret, A Dozen Things combines contortion, burlesque, poetry, games, lecture, ritual, confession, audience participation, science experiments, real-life moments and staged performance to deliver hard truths, half-truths and straight up lies.  The cabaret plays with the familiar themes and tropes of the human condition, namely: sexuality, violence, fantasy, love, tragedy, ecstasy, history, and death.  Nagle pits reality and action against fantasy and performance for an all out social deconstructionist battle.

Visit Rebecca Nagle's website for more information.

Saturday, May 29, 2010 | 7-10 pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective, is pleased to present She Speaks, a new monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event.  This event will be held at Visible Voice Books in Tremont, located at 1023 Kenilworth, from 7-10 pm in their outdoor courtyard.  The format will be open mic: come early and sign up for a time slot (about every 5 minutes).  All levels of experience are welcome.  Wine, coffee and hot tea will be available for purchase.  Seating is very limited and will be mostly standing room.  For more information please contact the organizer, Shelly A. Gracon-Nagy.

The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum. This month's theme is 'soul'. Bring your own poetry or short stories about 'soul' to read aloud, or those of a favorite author. Or come to simply relax and enjoy the experience.

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Letters on Motherhood

If you could write a letter to anyone about the subject of motherhood, what would you say and who would you write to? Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective invites you to a free Mother’s Day event that will attempt to answer these questions!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Letters on Motherhood
Sunday, May 9, 2010
2:00pm – 5:00pm
Prosperity Social Club
Free of charge. Donations accepted.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered is a staged reading and advocacy event. Throughout March and April, Whisper to a Scream collected letter submissions from women. The submitted letters were written to real people in the women’s lives and speak honestly about their perspectives and experiences as they relate to motherhood. Some funny, some melancholy, the letters address topics such as why not to have kids, how having children changes one’s life for better or worse, what it means to be a stepmom and the politics of motherhood in America. Selected letters will be read by local actors Denise Astorino, Sheffia Randall Dooley and Elaine Feagler as well as some of the actual letter writers.

Event attendees will also have the opportunity to write letters of their own to decision-makers about topics ranging from birthing rights to safe sex education in schools. All letters will be delivered by Whisper to a Scream after the event.

Prosperity will open early for this event – come on out and take advantage of a Sangria special while relaxing on the patio (weather permitting). Signed, Sealed, Delivered is free to attend and donations will be accepted. Donations will be used to offset costs of letter mailing and supplies.

Prosperity Social Club is located at 1109 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113.

Friday, April 9, 2010 | 7-9 pm | Visible Voice Books, Tremont | FREE

Whisper to a Scream: a feminist performance art collective, is pleased to present She Speaks, a new monthly, themed spoken word and works-in-progress event.  The debut of this event will be held at Visible Voice Books in Tremont, located at 1023 Kenilworth, from 7-9 pm in their upstairs meeting room during ArtWalk.  The format will be open mic: come early and sign up for a time slot (about every 5 minutes).  All levels of experience are welcome.  The theme this month is ‘healing’.  Wine, coffee and hot tea will be available for purchase.  Seating is very limited and will be mostly standing room.  For more information please contact the organizer, Shelly A. Gracon-Nagy.

The purpose of She Speaks is to give women an opportunity to network, commune and test new and first time work in a public forum. This month's theme is 'healing'. Bring your own poetry or short stories about 'healing' to read aloud, or those of a favorite author. Or come to simply relax and enjoy the experience.

We will be featuring two area poets, Kisha Nicole Foster of Black Poetic Society and Tru Poetry.  Kisha was born in Germany and raised in Cleveland.  Known to some as "Poet of the People," she has been a member of the Cleveland Classic slam team and was honored in 2006 by Writers & Their Friends as one of the top 25 writers in Cleveland. Her work was recently anthologized in Cleveland Poetry Scenes (Bottom Dog Press, 2008).  She has performed at such venues as The Lit Center, B-Sides, The Underground, The Humidor, The Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland State University.  Kisha’s style is both raw and energetic.

Tru Poetry has performed at The University of Toledo, Scott High School in Toledo, the Writing Wrongs in Columbus, B Side Liquor Lounge in Coventry, Case Western Reserve University, Word Play Wednesdays, The Olive Twist, The Grog Shop and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She feels her creator has called her to write, recite and heal with her words. She plans to do so right up until he calls her home.

Microscopes & Megaphones is a collaborative project that uses dance, theatre, audio and visual arts to explore "the problem that has no name" plaguing the modern woman today. With progress made in reproductive choice, education, the workplace and at home, the modern Western woman's oppression manifests itself through subtlety, innuendo and the places you least expect.

Offbeat and stripped down, Microscopes & Megaphones explores slutty fat girls, an oral sex memoir, baking as foreplay, the power of punctuations, the hypocrisy of language, degrees of touch and why Mom is the sexiest woman you know.

For mature audiences only! Contains sexual content and adult language.

The Review of Microscopes & Megaphones by Sarah Valek:

Feminism has come a long way, but there's still plenty of work to be done. Even though women have made strides in reproductive choice, education and the workplace, females are still held back by widespread uncertainty, timidness or by being perceived as "too fat to love" (or too this or too that...). 

Indeed, the devil is in the details. 

This was the main message of Microscopes & Megaphones, a performance put on by feminist art collective Whisper to a Scream that was part of Cleveland Public Theater's risk-taking Big [Box] 2010 series.

Microscopes & Megaphones was built out of rage--the initial feeling Whisper to a Scream founder Maria Miranda experienced after reading an article about a woman in Congo who died after giving birth because American politicians made no attempt to help her (or other poor women in underserved countries). 

Enter creative activism. 

Microscopes & Megaphones was divided into 11 scenes/skits that explored different facets of patriarchy, sex and love through dance, poetry, monologues and good ol' theater. Heady topics, yes, but the play never took itself too seriously. This wasn't "bumper sticker" activism--much of the work was open-ended for the audience to draw their own conclusions. 

The expertly-crafted monologue "Punctuations." kicked off the show. Written by Miranda, this piece underscored the politics of grammar, inciting women to make statements, not questions. (Say "I want a raise." [period] and "I'm leaving him." [period] rather than asking "Should I get a raise?" [question mark] and "Should I leave him?" [question mark]). The word play was intricate, clever and inspiring. A great opener. 

"Contemplating the Misogyny of High Heel Shoes aka I Love My Combat Boots" was just that--performer Laura Swedenborg danced across the stage with intended unease as she examined a bag full of high heel shoes. Excerpts of other women's perspective on heels were read in the background. Interesting but lengthy. 

Sex and the absurd rules women follow to win a date (ex: eat less, lose weight, dress sluttier) were brought to light in the hilarious "2F2F." Staged as a TV show complete with audience cue cards ("Laugh," "Awww..."), this performance starred Candy, a woman who worried she was too fat to have sex. After consulting with her BFF and getting it on with her boyfriend, she came to the conclusion that guys don't care what you look like as long as long as you'll screw. To put it bluntly, no one is "too fat to fuck." 

"Johnny," performed by Mindy Childress Herman and Amy Pawlukiewicz, juxtaposed a mom yelling at her son with a woman talking dirty to her lover, ultimately drawing a parallel between a woman's act of making love and giving birth. 

Kate Bishop, a self-described "sex-postive third-wave radical queer feminist" wrote one of the final scenes. Four performers took turns telling a detailed coming-of-age memoir of one woman's foray into same-sex lust, specifically oral sex. Contrary to her perceived heterosexuality, she found herself smitten with "Veronica," and was forced to reevaluate her self-identity. The performers took different perspectives of the situation: one was clinical, always citing research about bisexuality and Kinsey Reports; one was innocent and self-conscious; one overtly bold; and the other was pretty level-headed. 

Overall, Microscopes & Megaphones featured stellar performances, impeccable writing and a good mix of mediums. However, the performance clocked in at a whopping 2 hours and 40 minutes (!!). While every piece had its place--they were all excellent in one way or another--some serious editing would have made the point hit home a little harder. 

Still, major kudos to Whisper to a Scream for an afternoon of quality consciousness raising theater.

We want to thank Cleveland Public Theatre and everyone who came out to support Microscopes&Megaphones. The feedback from women has been tremendous and we know we're moving in the right direction.

Here are some choice words from attendees:

"Tagging on this email to tell you how much I enjoyed last friday night's M & M performance. It's the first time i've ever seen you take center stage and I enjoyed every minute of the quartet which will go nameless in my work generated email. But like so much of the show, your four took us on a brave journey, full out, not holds barred...into uncharted waters. I don't think one person (okay maybe ONE but no one i was sitting near) did not get taken in from the first moment and go along for the entire ride, and I'm talking fighting over the front seat of the roller coaster - hands in the air - eyes wide open - laughing all the way. Awesome."

"Last weekend some work friends and I attended the Saturday performance of 'Microphones and Megaphones.' This was a first for the three women who accompanied me, comprised of two nurses and a social worker. To my delight, they have not stopped speaking about their experience, how surprised they were at the quality of the perfomances, and the content given the surprising low cost of the tickets. All have vowed to return to CPT for additional offerings. What most surprised me was their response to your announcement about the ticket sales going to Preterm. From two devout catholics and one lapsed Baptist, I expected some bristling. They were outspoken in their support of CPT's generostity. You are to be commended for continuing to offer a venue for local writers and artists, taking a public stand in support of women's issues, and maintaining a quality theatre."

"..So, that was fucking glorious. You accomplished something to be proud of, a level of polish and ease that was far above what I imagined. You brought this work to life with a sweetness and sincerity. Seeing these voices become bodies become ensemble pumped me full of joy, set my heart off like a rocket. Having you tell this story back to me made me feel like I can do fucking anything. I got EMPOWERED. We collaborated in a deeply feminist adventure and put a girl-on-girl love story, complete with a live sex act, on public display as credible high art. Yeah, that happened, that revolution got told. This was actual real witchy magic, to bless the people with that spell. You know that quote, "If a woman told the truth about her life the world would split open"? Telling our stories, the whole tender funny awkward luscious tale, is the sharpest tool we have to dismantle patriarchy. You did this play. It shifted the world an increment further toward its better self. Truth."

"Bravo! The show was a success! Thought provoking and humorous! Looking forward to seeing more of your feminist collaboration!"

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