“Let me be: Grandma, Maama, and Me” is a show that explores themes such as grief, matrilineality, death, and Ugandan folklore. The show was written and directed by Sarah Nansubuga, a theater doctoral student. The show is based on another original one-woman show that Nansubuga wrote for her master's final thesis.
The show takes viewers on a roller coaster of emotions, from laughing at the comedy lines to crying at the ending. This is the story of four women struggling to get on with their lives when they lose a loved one, what it means to be a woman in a third world country, and what it means to leave and return. It's about what it means to be a daughter, and what it means to be a daughter.
This inspiration was born in Nansubuga about four years before the one-woman show, when her grandmother passed away. During this time, she said, she was feeling her growing pains towards her own mother.
“I realized there was a lot I didn't know about either woman, and that's what inspired[the show]. It came from a place of loss, grief, anger. “I was just trying to understand why mothers act the way they do,” she said.
The show included a lot of Ugandan culture and folklore through storytelling. It heightened the emotional impact of the performance and really helped build the relationships between the characters.
“It's not written down in an academic way, it's passed down, and just because of the generational disconnect, some of those connections are being lost,” she says.
Nansubuga said the story told in her play is very different from the original story.
“I'm interested in creating a blueprint for how folklore changes when translated into different mediums,” she said. “Continuing to incorporate folklore into the practice of theater in general is something I hope to continue to do.”
The entire company is so passionate about their role in bringing the show to life, and it shows in their performances. This is a very beautiful play that highlights such a strong theme. One of the actresses, Simone Jackson, is a junior in film and television and played her daughter Natasha in the play.
“When we were preparing for the role, which Sarah had written, we were a little nervous at first because we thought she was going to spoon-feed us what we wanted.” Jackson said. “But she left it up to us. It's something that I can tell from the experiences I had with her mother and grandmother and even what I witnessed others go through. was.”
Kayla Short, a fifth-year theater major, plays the role of Maama in this production. For Short, the key to playing her role was her connection to her mother.
“It's more difficult because I'm playing on the other side of familiar situations. A lot of the things my character said my mother are almost verbatim, so instead of thinking about how my mother made me feel, , remembering exactly what my mother said and thinking about how I remember it helps me become that character,'' she said.
Caitlin Gilliam, a senior in the theater world, said her experience working as a stage manager for productions taught her how interesting it is to develop original plays.
“I feel like there's something interesting about original shows where you can change things and potentially rewrite the show as it develops,” she said. “Who I'm working with really influences what this show is about, and I think that's really great.”
The play focuses on the cycle of generations and the connection between family ties and identity. Part of the journey helps viewers experience broader themes through the characters' lives.
“What I got was trying to communicate and trying to understand where mom was coming from on certain things,” Jackson said. “Everyone goes through things like trials and tribulations with their mothers, their daughters, their grandmothers. It's not just a normal friendship. You have a very deep relationship with your mother. And you're half her mother. I really hope it works out.'' People are reflecting on their situation. ”
Nansubuga said she hopes audiences will rediscover the joy of sitting and listening to a story, and the joy of being involved in the universal experience of motherhood.
“It depends on the context, but I hope that when you watch this show, you see a woman you've seen before. “I hope we can find out why they behave this way,” she said.