Centuries of conversation and stories from thousands of women around the globe will culminate in a body of work that will create a forum for dialogue with the hopes of revealing and restoring the truth and beauty of women's heart, mind, soul and spirit. It is hoped that this forum will provide for a "journey" that will take it back to one woman -- Eve -- the first woman to exist, the mother of all the living.
"She Shall Be Called Woman" will examine what you think of Eve and who she is exactly. A show co-written and co-produced by full-time missionaries Mycquel Glinton and Nishan Patton, with Anthia Butler, "She Shall Be Called Woman" seeks to create a space for dialogue about issues concerning female identity, gender equality, stereotypes, work, relationships, friendships, sexuality and spirituality.
The vision for the production developed after the friends engaged in five years of conversation with women from the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the United States across varying age groups, classes, races, ethnicities and faiths. They shared their diverse experiences, concerns, dreams, hopes, voiced frustrations, challenged misconceptions, and critically examined themselves and the world around them. For the show, reflection was also done on the writings of the earliest advocates for women's equality, the Suffragettes, activists, prophets, poets, entertainers and everyday women.
The say the title is taken from the biblical story of Eve as they considered how her experience connected to the struggles of women for centuries, and who were dismissed as inferior, weak, unworthy, blamed for social ills, burdened with the responsibilities of the home, denied education and legal rights, objectified, brutalized, idolized, idealized, repressed and oppressed.
"'She Shall Be Called Woman' is based on Eve's story -- the first woman to exist -- the mother of all the living. It basically goes back to what you think of Eve and who Eve is," said Butler who serves as the show's public relations and marketing liaison.
"We got the revelation five years ago, when God asked us the question: 'Who do we believe Eve to be?' challenging us to consider our view and perception of Eve. It was extremely difficult. Actually, we were all in tears in the living room when that happened, because my perception of Eve was she's the person responsible for all hell on the earth right now."
At that time, Butler said when she thought of Eve in the past she skipped Genesis one and two, which explores the splendor of God's Creation Story and jumped straight to Genesis three when Eve bit the apple and the fall was the result.
"We as women, and living in this patriarchal society, spent our entire lives skipping Genesis one and two, jumping straight to chapter three in which there are so many negative images attached -- Eve biting the forbidden fruit, her disobeying God, her having conversation with the serpent. It's always such a negative connotation or stigma associated with Eve, who was in fact deceived by the serpent. I too was guilty of personifying Eve as the reason behind all pain and suffering in the earth. I used so many negative terms to associate with her," said Butler.
After the question, Butler said the trio embarked on a mission, because the question had become personal to them.
"We started to interview women specifically, and we didn't know at that time that it would extend beyond the borders of The Bahamas, because we just posed it to our friends and to women we would encounter not knowing that we would then have conversations in the Caribbean, the United States, travel to Israel in the Middle East where we had conversations with women that we met.
"We had conversations with women in Europe... in Canada and of all different faiths and religions. It's so trans-global at this point because we're talking to women of the Muslim faith, talking to Hebrew women, talking to Christian women, talking to secular women, and the commonality was that there is still a struggle with identity and we realized that along the way our neglect of even understanding who Eve was is something that every single woman regardless of faith or culture can relate to."
While Butler said everyone for the most part is aware of the story of Eve, she said what's lacking is their identity.
"We started out on a mission to basically reveal that identity and have that restored. Our entire goal is to bring women into their understanding of who they are and tracing back the steps to where they came from. We want to explore that Eve was a real person. She was the first woman. She was the mother of all the living. She was not some mythical, mystical being. She was the first woman to experience the heartbreak of disobeying God. And that's something that's always overlooked -- that she would have had to live through that.
The results of five years of responses to that question will be brought to light in the show airing September 9 and 10 at Crush at Atlantis Resort. The 15-strong cast, which includes members as young as age seven, will seek to capture the spirit behind the amazing journey, and open up the conversation to others through song, dance, drama, spoken word, storytelling and other forms of art that often act as the spark of revolution.
"The way we will present it will be a very abstract presentation," said Butler. "An exciting night is planned.
They decided on the Crush teen nightclub at Atlantis venue to tear down the stigmas and the views of the way a Christian woman should act or be seen, as the show will address a variety of issues from sexuality to identity, women in the workplace, modesty, motherhood, relationship, and the church girl among other topics.
"We realized that space is important because people believe that these sort of conversations should only happen at certain venues, and that is inside the church, and we realize that our conversations extended from boardrooms to bedrooms, to hotel rooms, restaurants, lounges, home kitchens and living rooms."
Butler said Crush became ideal to create the lounge atmosphere for the show, as it's not really considered ideal for discussing topics as controversial as Eve and womanhood.
With show day quickly approaching, Butler who is also a cast member said getting it all squared away is overwhelming, but exciting.
"Overwhelming in the sense that we have so much information that we have in our possession, and we're still learning daily. We interview women and have casual conversation all the time, and every response while different, there's still a commonality to it that links us all as women."
Butler said they want the upcoming show to serve as a conversation starter.
"I hope people are critical [and] we are welcoming critical thinking at this point, because we've been in an environment that really does not foster that. I want people to take away conversation and to feel restored. We're creating a forum for women to come in and feel like it's a refuge -- a place where they find understanding, and are not alone or unique in their thoughts.
"From that night onward it's like I just connected with 100-plus women, who for the most part feel exactly the way I do. And while I haven't been able to articulate it, per se, or have a genuine conversation with somebody either from fear of being stigmatized or feeling as though your thoughts themselves don't even matter, here's a space that allows you to just breathe, and do that freely, confidently, boldly and without stigma."
The women were appreciative of their spiritual advisors, Valencia Glinton and Judith Smith, from Evangelistic Temple, Aglow International Ministry and World Day of Prayer for their support and prayers in aiding them in bringing what was only a question into reality.
"She Shall Be Called Woman" will run approximately 2.5 hours including an intermission. Showtimes are 7 p.m., Friday, September 9 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 10. Tickets are $35 per show and inclusive of the launch after party on Saturday at Crush.
After party tickets for the "Dance of the Decades" that is being billed as the ultimate 70s, 80s and 90s dance party, at 8 p.m. are also available a la carte for those that can't attend any of the shows. Tickets are available at Serendipity Intimates on Mackey Street, and Rolle's Auto Parts, East Street South, or via email: ssbcw@hotmail.com to have them delivered. Part proceeds to benefit Aglow Generations Project Bahamas.
Shavaughn Moss, Guardian Lifestyles Editor
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