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axes, herbs, and satchels

ahs tour dates

JACK
Brooklyn, NYC

April 16-19

Tiffany Street Theater
@ Inspiration Point
Hunts Point, The Bronx

 

May 9-11

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About the Show

Black and brown birthing bodies are in danger. Can the silenced traditions of Black midwives hold the key to saving them? When Kamara, a journalist, loses a sister to childbirth, she seeks the Black midwife wisdom that might have saved her. What follows is a journey through time to rediscover the wisdom of the ancestors, in order to reclaim the future.   

 

axes, herbs, and satchels: open the archives is a tribute to the traditional wisdom of the Black midwife community and offers a powerful look at maternal mortality. This performance is an act of restorative history, providing a space for collective learning, reflection, and healing. Devised by The Anthropologists. Co-Directed & Co-Written by Sandie Luna and Melissa Moschitto.

FREE CHILDCARE MATINEE: Sunday, May 11 at 12 PM
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

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Meet The Team

 

Co-Directed & Co-Written by Sandie Luna and Melissa Moschitto
 

Featuring performances by:
Jan Andree as Beulah / Josephine

Qianna Brooks as Alice / Trudy

Enette Fremont as Cynthia

Sandie Luna as Imani

Genevieve Ngosa Daniels as Kamara

 

Costume design by Calypso Michelet

Sound Design by Miranda Sage Rhode

Lighting Design by Matías Ulibarry

Stage Management by Verena Lee and Miranda Sage Rhode

Anthropologist-in-Residence Nadia N. Mbonde

Contributing Artists: Nazlah Black, Dr. Haile Eshe Cole, Jalissa Fulton, Miranda Hall,
Asha John, Brianna Johnson, Jayda Jones, Nadia N. Mbonde and Devynity Wray (contributing writer).

Watch the Trailer

Field Notes

Press +
      Media

"There was a beauty to this draft, and the dialogue it prompted, that left me thinking for days afterward."

- The Theatre Times, July 26, 2023

"The investigative theatre troupe will work with anthropologist Dr. Haile Eshe Cole to create a play about doulas and Black motherhood."

- American Theatre Magazine, March 15, 2023

The Empowered Artist Collective Podcast, June 2023

Production
           History

EAG Winter 2024 Residency

Co-Directors/Co-Scriptors: Sandie Luna and Melissa Moschitto
Ensemble: Nazlah Black, Jalissa Fulton, Asha John, Brianna Johnson, Sandie Luna 

Lead Deviser: Jalissa Fulton

Contributing Writers: Devynity Wray, Melissa Moschitto, Sandie Luna
Assistant Director/Line Producer: Jayda Jones

Research Assistant: Shreyaa Suresh
Anthropologist-in-Residence, 2024-2025: Nadia N. Mbonde

Anthropologist-in-Residence, 2023: Dr. Haile Eshe Cole

Contributing Artists / Devisors: Nazlah Black, Jalissa Fulton, Miranda Hall, Asha John, Brianna Johnson, Sandie Luna and Nadia N. Mbonde.

DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY
 

FEBRUARY 2024
Open Stage Residency - Episcopal Actors' Guild


OCTOBER 2023
Presented at Prelude '23, Invisible Dog Art Center

SPRING 2023

PHASE 1: Investigative Workshop & Research & Development, in partnership with American Anthropological Association.

Work-in-Process Performance: June 30th, 2023, 14 Y Theater 

2025 Tour

Art House (NJ), Arts Garage (FL), Wabash College (IN)​

Co-Directors/Co-Writers: Sandie Luna and Melissa Moschitto
Ensemble: Jalissa Fulton, Shakerria Breonie Henderson, Asha John, Brianna Johnson, Sandie Luna 
Stage Manager: Crys Pascale Clemente
Assistant Stage Manager: Melyanet Suarez

Costume Designer: Calypso Michelet
Sound Designer:
Miranda Sage Rhodes

Research Assistant: Shreyaa Suresh
Anthropologist-in-Residence, 2024-2025: Nadia N. Mbonde

Executive Producer: Melissa Moschitto
Assistant Director/Line Producer/Tour Manager: Jayda Jones

 

Contributing Artists: Nazlah Black, Jalissa Fulton, Miranda Hall, Asha John, Brianna Johnson, Sandie Luna, Nadia N. Mbonde and Devynity Wray (Contributing Writer)

The United States has a maternal mortality rate that is three times higher than any other high-income country. Black and Indigenous birthing people are particularly at risk, with death rates up to three times more likely than their white counterparts. Modern medicine may be at our fingertips, but did it come at the cost of losing the ancient practices of doulas and midwives

 

This play was devised from an array of research materials; first hand accounts, medical textbooks, ethnological studies, and primary sources documenting grand midwives and the history of midwifery.

ahs field notes
ahs trailer
ahs gallery

Photo Gallery

 

This project is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, a New York Women's Fund Grant and support from the Puffin Foundation. Previous support was provided by NYSCA/A.R.T./New York, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Episcopal Actors' Guild.

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