WILLIAMSBURG — One play will showcase a mother’s grief, community support and the concept of letting go, all through the eyes of an orca whale.
William & Mary (W&M) Theatre, Speech and Dance Department, in co-production with Christopher Newport University, is showcasing the play, “Dance of the Orcas,” which is about one orca whale’s journey through grieving the loss of her baby and finding peace.
“In this stirring choreoritual of word, song and movement, Tahlequah, assisted by ancestral forces, journeys into a dark emotional abyss and learns the freedom which comes from letting go,” according to the show’s description. “A testament to embracing vulnerability and community healing.”
Omiyẹmi (Artisia) Green, an Associate Professor of Theatre and Africana Studies and director of the Africana Studies Program at W&M, wrote and directed the play.
Green said that “Dance of the Orcas” was inspired by the 17-day ordeal in which the orca whale Tahlequah (J35), forsaking nourishment, pushed her infant, its heart unbeating, through the Pacific Northwest,” something Green referred to as “a tour of grief.”
“One of the natural forces in this play is Yemoja, the mother of the children of fish,” Green said, adding Yemoja is the top layer of the ocean and Olokun is the bottom layer. “Tahlequah turns to the forces of Yemoja/Olokun to put her pain in the past.”
Green noted that the ocean is “a sort of liquid graveyard.”
“As Tahlequah journeys, we are “invoking the memory of the transatlantic slave trade, and the memory of those who chose or who were pushed off the ships, and their home is in the ocean,” Green added.
Dance of the Orcas streams on demand starting April 29 through May 2. The event will be available for streaming on demand. The virtual performance costs $7. You can buy tickets here.
Tickets can be purchased online through the Kimball Theatre box office website or by calling the box office at 757-221-2674. For more information, email the boxoffice@wm.edu.
The video below is a special behind-the-scenes look, courtesy of W&M.
.
CATCH UP ON MORE STORIES FROM WYDAILY:
- W&M Theatre season is going virtual. Here’s the schedule
- Historic First Baptist Church to dedicate marker honoring local icon
- Don’t walk the plank this weekend at Pirates Invade Yorktown
- PHOTO GALLERY: Colonial Williamsburg’s “CW Lights” event
- ‘Kids in Kayaks’ returns to the James River
- As Anti-Asian hate crimes rise, students speak out about their personal experiences
- #UnmaskingPeninsula: How race, gender trauma affect people in Hampton Roads
