One day I was on the phone with a friend having one of these candid conversations (about my period), which went something like this:
“Hey, girl. Do you know that heffa had the nerve to show up three days early. She’s just rude!”
“Yeah, she is so inconsiderate. But better she come three days early than three days late.”
“Yeah, you’re right!”
“Funny, we hate when she’s here and hate when she’s late.”
“We have such a love/hate relationship.”
“Tramaine…you should SO write about this!”
And then Point…Blank…Period! was born. As a writer, I like to talk about real life situations. My motto is “everyone’s life is a stage.” But, sometimes people get so tense and scared to talk about…life! Things that are natural. So when the idea came about I knew I had to jump on it. I mean, come on, periods are a part of life and the reason we are all here. Why be afraid to discuss it? Plus, making people uncomfortable makes for really great writing material!
While doing my research, it was amazing to hear the various stories about a woman’s perception and relationship with her period. It also shocked me how bashful people became when you mentioned the topic. Why? It makes a woman more amazing and adds to the mystery of what makes her unique. It’s what keeps the world moving and yet people get so uncomfortable talking about something so normal!
When looking for a platform to produce this show, I knew that I wanted to submit this show to the Capital Fringe festival because of the exposure and vast audience it would reach. One thing that I wanted to stress was that this show is about women! Not black women, white women, young or old women. It is all of our stories, from beginning to end.
The unique thing about Point…Blank…Period! is the collection of works and how we’ve lined it into a show. The viewer will see spoken word pieces, monologues, skits, and choreopoems about this common theme. We take the audience from the little girl wondering what this ‘period’ thing is, all the way to menopause. There’s humor and moments of serenity. Point…Blank…Period! takes you on a roller coaster of emotions! And the great thing about it is that writing it was seamless. I joined together with four other writers to pull together the pieces. I asked each of them to write their own responses. When we came back together, it amazed me how one writer’s pieces was the response to anothers’! They fit, with no effort, into this wonderful show!
Now that we are in the thick of rehearsals and approaching opening night, I am floored. I love what we have come up with and each rehearsal reveals, more and more, the beauty of a woman. To hear all of these stories, good and bad, just proves how strong we are. It makes me proud to be who I am.
Point…Blank…Period! is a chance for the audience to step into this intimate world. To ask questions and get them answered. To see a private side of a woman that’s quite common. I want the audience to walk away from this show awed and comfortable to freely speak about something so natural. For women to embrace the presence, or absence, of it…for men to better understand it. For 60 minutes, I want to just talk about my period…and not feel weird about it!
Gallery – Goethe Institut – 812 7th Street NW, in Washington, DC
July 11th at 10:15 pm
July 16th at 9:45 pm
July 20 at 8:45 pm
July 24th at 7:15 pm
July 26 at 6:45 pm
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE, OR CALL (866) 811-4111.
