BARBARA HUME, PLAYWRIGHT

 

Theatre is most impactful as an "empathy-building" medium, a mirror that reflects an audiences' bias, hopes, hurts, anger and/or questions. Concepts for my plays have evolved out of personal memory, historical moments and/or cultural confrontations.  Dead relatives, haunting memories or a moment of despair often triggers a story, a conflict that transcends time, place and people.  Discovering a conflict that resonates in the present moment both challenges and shapes my writing.    For example, in LIGHT THROUGH THE CELLAR DOOR, while anticipating the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2021, I began writing about three generations of women from one family set in the 1980s when Roe v. Wade was being challenged in my home state of Missouri.  As one of five sisters growing up as teenagers both pre Roe and post Roe with an Irish Catholic mother, the three generations of women in my play each struggle with their personal autonomy in distinct yet similar patterns, bridging the past with their present struggle, discovering ways to assert their choice about their physical and emotional health. 

 

I like to think of myself as a "mixed-genre" artist.  I'm often moved to utilize the language of song and dance in my plays to illuminate the mind and heart of my characters.  As a choreographer, my first medium for storytelling was using movement to convey a story.  As a vocalist, performing art song, musical theatre and ballads, I recognize the power of the human voice to expose the heart's most vulnerable emotions, creating connections with an audience's cathartic reservoir.  Consequently, an occasional song may become a moment of monologue that touches, most intimately, the emotional core.