Devised Play Hits Wabash Stage Tonight

The Anthropologists, a New York City-based, female-led, investigative theater company, will present its devised play, “axes, herbs and satchels,” at Wabash College Fine Arts Center tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Ball Theater.

The Anthropologists’ Artistic Director Melissa Moschitto and co-director Sandie Luna helm the ensemble of Black women and non-binary artists who shine a light on the suppressed history of Black midwives, doulas, and birthing bodies. “axes, herbs and satchels” travels across generations with storytelling, movement, southern spirituals, and ritual. The play is an act of reparative history, offering audiences a space for learning, reckoning, and healing.

“axes, herbs and satchels” was developed through extensive ethnographic research, primary sources and personal accounts to create a new investigative theater piece which celebrates the traditional knowledge held in the Black birth worker community and examines maternal mortality.

The research and development of this play was supported in part by a partnership with the American Anthropological Association, who established the first anthropologist-in-residence with the company.

Tickets are available at https://www.wabash.edu/boxoffice/event.cfm?eventd_id=215. This performance is free and open to the public. Guidance Suggested: This event may involve material that may not be appropriate for young children.