(Best of the Capital Fringe)
The Goddess Diaries, returning for its third year in Capital Fringe, started off with a bang! Written by Carol Lee Campbell and Directed by Rebecca Wahls, this simply staged, powerful work receives a 5 star rating for its intimate and inspiring performance.
Each monologue represented a unique and struggling time in a woman’s life, utilizing experiences from different women’s lives, but made applicable to everyone. Empowering women and people everywhere to overcome their fears, find the truth in situations, grow as a person, live beautifully in each unique moment of their lives, and believe in themselves.
The narrator of the story, Kim Posthumus related the changes in season to the changes that women go through at different points in their lives: the teenage years being late winter, going through the last harvest and Halloween of a woman’s mature life, full circle back around to winter solstice and the rebirth that is found in a growing child. Each monologue was segued by a section of the song Demeter’s Daughter by Anne Lister, sung by Alexandra Bunger-Pool as well as an interlude of narration to tie the monologues together, relating everything back to the earth, Persephone, and the wheel of time.
Eryn Gleason, Kathleen Barth, Halah Zenhom, Ruthie Rado, Dana Maas, Annette Mooney Wasno, Helenmary Ball, and Maddie Shannon used deep emotions, unique life experiences, and different perspectives and fears and beliefs to draw the audience in and ensnare them in each winding, beautiful, complex story. Stage Manager Gabrielle Lavoie expertly timed lighting transitions which allowed the focus to remain on the storytelling and the conversation created between performer and audience. Costume Coordinator Catie Hubbard used each Goddess’ closet to reflect their different characters and to play off of one another, all choices added to the flow from scene to scene. Bringing hard times to the forefront and showing how even the toughest of situations can be solved and moved on from, The Goddess Diaries uses its stories to help support and raise awareness for women-based charities that fight violence and provide shelter to victims.
Running Time: 75 minutes
The Goddess Diaries plays through July 27, 2014 at The Goethe Institute – 812 7th street NW, in Washington, DC. For performance information and to purchase tickets, go to their Capital Fringe Page.
Absolutely outstanding! Best show I’ve seen in this year’s Fringe so far. Begins with a hilarious anecdote about a pet snake and ends with a lovely chant to the Orisha (Goddess) Yemaya, which I first learned ages ago and was astonished and delighted to hear (and sing along with) here.