MARIAMA: A TALE OF FREEDOM AND GRACE
A One-Woman Play Written and Performed by Marian Oliker
I fell in love with West African Dance in 1962 when I was 6 years old.
And then again as a dancer at 20, in 1977.
But being a white, Jewish girl, it was complicated and over the following 30 years my relationship to the dance went through many changes, culminating with the writing and performing of my solo play Mariama: A Tale of Freedom and Grace.
The play weaves the story of two young women, Mariama, a spirited Senegalese girl and Rebecca, a shy Jewish girl from Brooklyn as they challenge the limits of prejudice to fulfill their dreams to dance.
“Oliker breathes life into each character, effortlessly gliding between Marian and Mariama as the girls grow into adulthood. She draws the audience in close, and we share in the heartache, loneliness, jubilance and grace as her characters embrace their hearts' desires.”
“…As Mariama sits with her friend by the river [in Senegal], the luxurious heat and humidity wrap around the audience as we eavesdrop on their talk about boys from behind the baobob tree. We feel the rumble and lurch of the subway [in Boston] while Marian is alone in the world among the throngs of passengers. We see the dismissive looks from the other girls in a [New York] ballet class as a proud Mariama gracefully moves through her adagio.”
Theater & Performance in Santa Cruz, CA | 'Mariama' at Actor's Theatre (goodtimes.sc)