what is…

The Mama Project is a celebration of how we mother, why we mother, and who we are as mothers. It is a gathering and creating of community. Is is a symbol for the strength, perseverance, and work that goes into our children. It is a place for mothers to hold space for each other. It is a performance of all this and a call to pay attention.

Hi, I’m Eli and I’m a Mama and a theatre practitioner and I want to build community and create art with you. The idea for this piece came at that time when I realized what being a mother meant to me, like when I realized I really was a mom. Not when the kids came out (ooey gooey) but the moment when I was like: Oh, I’m a mom, I’m these kids’ mom. I feel a powerful urge to protect them and I will so watch out. At that moment I knew I needed to create art to honor the ferocity of motherhood and all the complex, crappy, joyful feelings that go along with it.

Where you come in

At a time when as a mom of littles I felt alone and lost and sometimes helpless to help myself, I was able to find comfort in community of other Mamas. It only made sense to build on that when creating this piece.

Once a month, I hold Sharing Circles where Moms meet and in one form or another, we share our stories in response to prompts. Prompts will be around topics that affect us all but will invite your individual experience. Before each meeting a community agreement is read and there is an expectation of respect and holding space for one another. Please note, responses are timed and participants are asked to respond from their experiences, rather than speaking of someone ele’s. The stories and movement we’ve shared will then help create a larger, movement/performance piece to be workshopped on Mother’s Day ‘24. (Because the day should be bigger than cards and flowers. For info on the original meaning: Mother's Day: A Campaign for Peach and Justice) The bigger goal is that this becomes a yearly, nationwide event but for now, it’s here in St. Paul, MN.

You do not need to be a performer, though I ask you to consider performing. The idea is that it will have a greater impact and be a testament to motherhood and our strength (and creativity, fun, silliness, anger, friendship… you get it). You only need to identify as a Mama (humans only, no pet Mamas, please) and have an interest in building community. I invite you to every Share Circle but you may only want to come once. I invite you to share in the Share Circle but you can just listen. And please note, whatever is shared will not be used without permission, which you can take back at any point. Again, it will be primarily a movement piece (hoping for some song, too) so all representations of stories will be blended through movement.

Please RSVP and let me know if you need childcare or a stipend to attend. Updates and schedule are posted on Facebook. If you have any further questions, please contact me HERE. See you soon!