DECOLONIZING MY VAGINA

Created and performed by Cristina Pitter
Featuring the music of Starr Busby, directed by Jordana De La Cruz
January 8, 22 and 29, 2018

In this performance piece of ritual, storytelling, and poetry, Pitter explores her personal stories of love, devastation, and the tricky path to healing and reclaiming oneself by examining her intimate encounters and reconciling her desires of white men.

Directed by Jordana De La Cruz
Movement by nicHi douglas
Music created and performed by Starr Busby
Lighting Designer: Lauren Miller
Light board operator: Jo Goforth
Presented by The Exponential Festival, JACK, and The Ashe Collective

BIOS

Cristina Pitter (Writer/Performer) is a queer fat babe interdisciplinary artist, sex educator, and founder of The Ashe Collective, which focuses on storytelling inspired by ancestral roots and identities while also engaging in community outreach. She also has the best laugh ever. Seriously. You might have seen her work at Ars Nova, Classic Stage, New Ohio Theatre, Joe’s Pub, The PIT, The Tank, The Flea Theater, JACK (where several pieces of this show were created with Decent Company), Dixon Place, or three separate but specific bathtubs. She most recently finished up a jaunt in Houston at Stages Repertory Theatre for the world premiere of BALLS by Kevin Armento and Bryony Lavery, which will be playing at 59E59 Jan-Feb 2018. Feel free to follow her antics on Twitter @isisgypsy and Instagram @lavidagypsy.

Starr Busby (Music) is an experimental avant-garde soul singer, songwriter, composer and actor. She began her career at The Grammy Award Winning High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX, then earned a bachelor of music and certificate in music theatre from Northwestern University. Recent credits include: Decolonizing My Vagina (New Ohio Theatre/Fridays on Ice); Moby Dick (workshop, Berkeley Repertory Theatre); Mikrokosmos (Steirischer Herbst, Graz); The Girl with the Incredible Feeling (Spoleto Festival di Mondi); The Offending Gesture (The Tank, Flint and Tender Series); La Mama Cantata (La Mama E.T.C., international tour) as well as various concerts and solo shows. She often performs with Brooklyn based experimental soul band People's Champs and has appeared with Alice Smith and Esperanza Spalding. Recently she released the song and video "Ms Bland", a tribute to Sandra Bland and all other lives lost to police brutality. Her music is available via iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

nicHi douglas (Movement) is a Brooklyn-based actor, dancer, choreographer, director, playwright and activist. She has performed all over New York and the country as an actor/dancer in the freelance capacity, in addition to performing nationally with The Dance Cartel and literacy-focused children’s theatre company The Story Pirates. She currently teaches Movement & Choreography and Performance Practicum in the NYU: Tisch Drama Department – Playwright’s Horizon Theatre School studio. She is currently in residence in Fresh Ground Pepper's inaugural In-House Artists program and is in Ars Nova’s Maker’s Lab residency for 2018. nicHi's artistic interests lie at the intersection of art and activism, with particular interest in the voice and perspective of the Black American woman. Recent stage credits: PharmaBro: An American Douchical (The Players Theatre, Choreographer), Runaways (NY City Center, Associate Choreographer), The Dance Cartel: ONTHEFLOOR (A.R.T./Oberon, Principal Dancer), NOW EVERYONE GO AROUND THE TABLE AND SAY WHAT THEY'RE THANKFUL FOR (NYU/Experimental Theater Wing, Director), and Black Girl Magic Show! (Ars Nova ANT Fest and JACK, Director/Choreographer/Playwright). Upcoming stage credits: Medusa (HappyLucky No.1 Gallery, Actor), tselem (The Cherry Lane Theatre, Actor). B.F.A. NYU/ETW; M.F.A. The New School. thank you Cristina, Jordana and Starr; your power strengthens me.

Jordana De La Cruz (Director) is a Brooklyn-based director and producer. She creates events, performances, and public programs that spark cross-cultural dialogue and challenge the traditional notions of identity and sexuality. She has worked with The Flea Theater, IATI Theater, INTAR Theatre, Labyrinth Theater Company, The Story Pirates, Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company, New York Madness and New Georges. Jordana is currently curating public programs at the Park Avenue Armory, a cultural arts institution dedicated to producing unconventional work.

THE EXPONENTIAL FESTIVAL - Jan. 4 - 31, 2018 - presents and promotes theatrical performances created by New York-based artists and exhibited across Brooklyn and Manhattan. We celebrate the increasing growth and importance of unique venues and local artists, working together to keep theatre kicking.

RUNTIME: 60 minutes, no intermission.

Photo by Ed Forti