We’ve got a bunch of current issues we’re tackling, some on stage, some in the houses of law.
Two professors at Bard Microcollege in Holyoke are producing a theatrical work that dovetails with their teachings tidily. “Belly: An American Love Story” is a work that condenses a decade of research on Black motherhood and reproductive autonomy into an experience of music, dance and spoken word, all while contextualizing these findings within the Transatlantic Slave Trade and friendships and families of today.
We speak with writer and producer Haile Eshe Cole and assistant producer Nicole Young Martin about the choreopoem and the ties to their academic lives in Holyoke, including a dissertation pivot. We also explore the lack of resources for newer theater works and recognizing cultural significance amidst universal experience.
And our weekly conversation with Rep. Jim McGovern interrupts his congressional break to talk about the famine and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, questions about the Epstein files, the ever-looming storm of budget cuts to energy initiatives, HIP, SNAP and more.
Oh, and what he’s planning to do with the rest of that downtime. Seeing as he’s on vacation and all, sorta.
