Open Lab: Mary & Her Monster

An interactive experiment exploring the euphoria and horror of mothering

What does it mean to mother? What are the sacrifices worth making to create? What are the unforeseen realities after birthing your creation?  

Mary and Her Monster is an interactive performance currently in development about mothering and monstrosity. It draws parallels with Mary Shelley and her Frankenstein, exploring the tension between the power of mothering and the repulsion of those who mother. Everyone lauds an innovator, a creator, a founder, while excluding those birthing actual human life.  

Catherine Duquette will be working with various communities to unpack what it is to mother in the current state of the world. This is the first in a series of public experiments — an interactive performance with a group of people who identify as mothers feeding their babies on stage as we ask: What is the way forward? Who's doing it differently? How can we do it better? After the experiment, we will facilitate a discussion about the experience and themes of the work.  

Mary and Her Monster is a collaboration between theatre maker/writer/performer Catherine Duquette, director/interactive technology designer Ruth Sergel, and director/filmmaker Bronwyn Donohue. We make work through conversation and rigorous experimentation with a live audience and as a lens for social change.