I thought it might be helpful to share a bit of background about Beyond Barbie and the precepts we’ve been working with so far for folks who haven’t been involved yet…

 

In 2011 I had an art show called Not Barbie at Crossroads Art Center.  I showed over 50 life-sized paintings of female nudes of many different shapes, sizes, ages, and races.  My intention was to give people a chance to see what women really look like so we, as women, can individually and collectively begin to accept our beautiful bodies exactly the way they are. 

 

As I was preparing for the Not Barbie, I noticed that many of my models are artists and performers and amazing women!   I came up with the idea to hold a performance series concurrent with the show, on Thursday evenings, seven discrete performances.

 

I held a meeting with about 25 women who had expressed interest in the concept.  Together we brainstormed topics we wanted to explore in a full evening and people signed up for the one/ones they wanted to help with/participate in/lead.

 

I kept an eye on the overall scheme of things while 10 or so intensely capable women took on running the individual evenings.  I did overall marketing, press releases, creating the program, gathering advertising for it, coordinating the space with Crossroads, ticket sales, etc. 

 

The women who ran the evenings found performers, set the program for the night (sometimes we talked it out together, sometimes they ran with it alone after checking in a bit), got volunteers to sell tickets at the door, set up chairs, etc. 

 

The space was the large gallery where my paintings were hanging at Crossroads.  We were responsible for setting up and taking down chairs, and we paid a worker to stay to keep an eye on the gallery while we and our guests were in there, but otherwise the space was free.  We printed up a program which advertisers paid for.  The individual evenings provided inserts for their programs for the nights. 

 

Performers were paid for their work (unless they chose to donate their proceeds to an organization of their choice.) That is a VERY important precept to me, and I am NOT willing to negotiate it.  I believe artists and women in general deserve to get paid for the work they are doing.  Period.  I received a percentage of the proceeds, we paid the Crossroads worker and other expenses, then the rest was divided amongst the performers as the leader(s) saw fit.  We sold tickets for $10 each, or $50 for the entire 7 week series. 

The entire series was about showcasing talented women, talking about issues relevant to women which aren’t usually brought into public discourse, and about empowering women.  The atmosphere was high energy, positive, empowering, rich, and authentic.  I loved the authenticity of the performances and the discussions afterwards.  This work has made a real difference in women’s lives.  I have received countless emails and comments from women attesting to this fact.

 

Here’s the information from the press release about each of the individual evenings:

 

Strength in Motion: Dancing our Sacred Bodies is an inspired evening of dance and discussion.  Joining us will be leaders in different styles of dance including Frances Wessells of Virginia Commonwealth University, Peggy O'Neill, Dawn Flores, and Khalima of Illumination Dance Studio. From bellydance to hoop dance to improvisation, we will explore the ways women have moved across the ages to present times, and how dance can serve not only as a performance art, but as a healing, spiritual, and strengthening modality.  

 

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Thursday, September 29th

Body of work: Piercing and Painting our Personal Masterpiece is an event designed to take a serious look at the world of women and body modification, and the many ways that women intentionally modify the bodies that they are in, through body art, adornment, and other methods. We will be discussing personal growth and expression versus self-harm. We will be joined by Rachel Easter of Onetribe, professional body piercer Kim Sikorsky, and others who will share their experiences with body modification.

 

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

The Blues: Liberation, Empowerment, and Joy! is an evening celebrating the life-changing power of music. Opening the evening with song will be Ana Rivera-Poland followed by a headlining performance from Gaye Adegbalola, singer, composer, storyteller and activist.  By maintaining the blues legacy, Gaye sees herself as a contemporary griot - keeping the history alive, delivering messages of empowerment, ministering to the heartbroken, and finding joy in the mundane.

 

Thursday, October 13, 2011 

Through the Fire: Reclaiming Lost Power After Trauma & Abuse

When one woman on the planet is beaten, raped or otherwise abused, we all suffer.  Our compassion for each other breaks all barriers of class and ethnic separation.  That is why these stories are difficult to hear; but for healing to occur, they need to be spoken.  In a safe and sacred space, award-winning storytellers Linda Goodman and Megan Hicks lead a cast of artists in opening a window into a world where few of us would go willingly.  Through the transformative power of art, these women show us how to process, rise above and glean wisdom from life's most unwanted and painful lessons.  The evening's performance will be followed by a question and answer period with the artists, who will be joined by experts from the community in offering resources, information and advice.

 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Caught in a Funhouse Mirror: Distorted Reflections and Eating Disorders

Kathleen MacDonald, a nationally known speaker and Capitol Hill lobbyist on behalf of people with eating disorders will be the expert speaking this night.  She will give an informative, gripping, and thoroughly personal account of her own struggle with eating disorders.  She will also provide listeners with hope, local and national resources, and practical advice. In addition to Ms. McDonald's talk, there will also be a panel of local experts and survivors who will address questions audience members may have.  Whether you, a friend, or family member has been personally affected or you simply want to hear women talk about their lives in a way that is true and real, this will be a moving performance to attend. 

 

Thursday, October 27th

Listening and Observing: The Power of Birth in Story  

Childbirth may be one of the most powerful events that women experience in life. The sharing of women's personal experiences of giving birth provides an opportunity for greater understanding about how birth shapes and is shaped by our self-perceptions, our culture, and the trajectory of our lives. This evening will provide a safe space to experience the art of listening as we share our personal stories of birth in a way that honors the unique experience of each storyteller.

 

 

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Life in the First Person: Women's Stories Uncovered will serve as the grand finale in the event series, Beyond Barbie. Seven renowned Richmond writers will join forces to create a night of mixed-genre storytelling, reading, and performance art via poetry and prose. Come out to hear Life in the First Person with Gigi Amateau, novelist; Denise Bennett, storyteller; Tarfia Faizullah, poet; Julie Geen, freelance writer; Shelia Gray, performance artist; Valley Haggard, creative nonfiction writer and Alexandra Nelson Iwashyna, blogger.

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We have since had two other iterations of Beyond Barbie.   

Here is the blurb from the program for the first of those:

Beyond Barbie: A Celebration of Real Women. 

Saturday, April 14, 2012, 7-9 p.m.,

at the Holiday Inn Koger Conference Center, 1021 Kroger Center Blvd., North Chesterfield, VA 23235.

 

A celebration of life as women share authentically about birth, life, art, domestic violence, aging and death through story, song, and dance. Presented by the Chesterfield County Domestic and Sexual Violence Resource Center, Chesterfield Domestic Violence Task Force and the Women of Color Caucus of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance

Produced by Susan Singer, artist, performer, writer, and women’s rights activist

 

This was a one night performance, a variation on the theme of Domestic Violence with many of the previous performers plus some new ones who had done work in the area of Domestic Violence before.It was held in a hotel (not a great venue because a wedding was next door) on a night with bad weather.The county had restrictions for what we were allowed to include which affected the show.I learned I have a strong preference to retain artistic and production control to avoid the above issues.

 

The next iteration was produced by Dawn Flores at Unity of Richmond in conjunction with in Feb 2013.It was called .Here is the press release for it:

 

Four new installments of Beyond Barbie: Four Fridays in February, the incredibly successful performance series launched by Susan Singer in Oct - Nov 2011 and produced by Dawn Flores this time around.  The segments will take place at Unity of Richmond, 800 Blanton Ave, Richmond at 7:30 PM, each Friday in February, 2013.  The four segments are as follows:

·         The Heart’s True Scale: An evening of storytelling with Denise Bennett, ​Friday, February 1, (2013) 7:30 pm

Lured on by a strange crow, a hapless Harper finds himself trapped in a deep dark cave . What he finds there will test the true scale of his heart (all puns intended). It's a story about the healing power of love even in the wake of violence and pain. The Heart's True Scale is an original fairy-tale for adults. Using voice and harp, humor and drama, Denise Bennett cleverly combines elements of traditional storytelling and theater to heal, captivate, and enthrall her audience.

·         Breaking Free: Transcending Barriers of Mind, Body and Circumstance, Friday, February 8, 7:30 pm

        Each of us has barriers that we sometimes allow to hold us back, be they handicaps, mental illnesses, bad marriages, race, gender, prison or other circumstances. By witnessing the courage of others, we can increase our own courage and learn to break free. Produced by Dawn Flores with Susan Singer, and featuring Lisette Johnson, Jenny Warne, Jacqueline Jones and the work of Jess Lucia, this evening celebrates, through stories, song and dance, the lives of women who tapped into their own courage and resilience when confronted with life's extraordinary challenges.

·         Women in Power: Creating Roadmaps for Others, Friday, February 15, 7:30 pm
Produced by Dawn Flores with Susan Singer, this evening showcases women who have experienced, in profoundly personal ways, a need in their communities and have taken action to create or support programs that inspire, educate and empower others. Sylvia Clute shares insights into the inequalities within the criminal justice system and lays out an inspiring new vision of restorative justice. Kathleen MacDonald, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Gail R. Schoenbach FREED Foundation, powerfully and compassionately shares her knowledge and understanding about recovering from and eliminating eating disorders.

·         Sacred Circle Dance, Friday, February 22, 7:30 pm

Sacred Circle dance is an empowering way to reclaim wholeness by sinking into the body and building a sense of community through movement. In a safe and sacred space, Peggy O’Neill guides participants in simple steps in time to beautiful music from a variety of cultures. Peggy has been teaching dance since the 80’s and has lead local, national and international gatherings with grace and gentleness. This event is for women, men, and teens and no ability or previous dance experience is required. Proceeds will benefit One Billion Rising RVA.

 

Through the different experiences I’ve had with these three iterations, I’ve learned the following:

 

1. Collaboration is the key.  It’s incredible having many people working together to create something passionate and powerful and empowering.  People are moved by what they experience whether they are performing or are in the audience.

2. Marketing is really important.  We have to get out press releases early, get all the local rags involved in writing stories.  There has to be a great hook for each evening.  We need to write and send out good press releases relentlessly, at least 2-3/program, plus several for the overall series.  Every person who is taking part needs to have a stake in getting people to the shows.  Ads weren’t necessary.  Interviews are great.  FB was critical to the success.  We should stick with the Beyond Barbie FB page and not create a different one for this series – why have to build a new audience when we already have several hundred fans?

3. It is vital to pay the performers even if it ends up being a pittance.  In some instances, it’s the first time these people have ever been paid for their art.  It matters.

4. It is vital that we get paid for our work as well.  Women tend to give away their time and talent, and that’s lovely, but we also have bills and we’re doing work, and we deserve to get paid. 

5. I like having the tone of the evenings be positive and uplifting ultimately.  That doesn’t mean we aren’t intense and don’t touch on the tragic – we definitely do.  But we give people hope at the end of the night – along with much to think and talk about with their friends.  We open up possibilities for intimacy.

6. We need lots of volunteers to help with chairs, tickets, etc.

7. It is not necessary to serve food or drinks, especially not alcohol.  I think those divert attention from the topics.  That said, it was sweet having refreshments in Unity’s basement, but I still think it dilutes the message and the opportunity to deal with it.  I’m open to other thoughts about this.

8. Things happen – people sign on then have to drop out.  It’s great to stay detached about that sort of thing and to trust that things will always work out for the best.

 

Beyond Barbie is constantly evolving.  Currently I think it could be summarized as performances by women for (primarily) women about (primarily) women’s issues, meant to awaken awareness and provide empowerment to women in an authentic setting in order to change the world for the better.