Anita La Selva on Stones
May 24, 2018
As we prepare for this weekend’s previews of Stones, we wanted to share director Anita La Selva’s own words about the piece.We’re honoured to have supported Anita and all the woman who have contributed to this project over its past four years of development. We stand with you.
Here are Anita’s director’s notes for the production:
When I look at the different manifestations of gender-based violence, I see them all as part of a continuum: the shaming, humiliating, abusing, beating, raping, burning – with stoning being one of the most extreme and dehumanizing practices in the world. There are no small acts of violence. Every act leaves its mark – every stone thrown has an effect – on the individual and on society as a whole. I am constantly asking myself where does it begin and where does it end? Where does the seed come from that says it is okay to perpetrate these acts against women? And why is this still a crisis in 2018?
Working on a piece like this changes a person. Each day that I am in the room with this project, I am humbled by the stories of the women who have suffered and lost their lives to this and other extreme forms of violence. At times it is difficult to even imagine the circumstances some women are forced to endure. Throughout all this, what has inspired me the most is the unwavering spirit and resilience of so many women around the globe who fight every day for their basic human rights, who stand up even when faced with more threats of violence and say NO – this has to stop.
It is time for us to join together and stand in solidarity with women in our own communities and those in the remotest parts of the globe. We need to support the movements already in existence that have been spearheaded by the brave, passionate and unwavering women and men who believe in gender equality and basic human rights for every man, woman and child.
All of the stories and names you hear in the piece are based on true events and real women. Some are verbatim accounts; others are our responses as artists to individuals and experiences of which we can only begin to conceive. It is with respect, honour and love that we say thank you to the women who have embedded themselves in our psyches over the last four years and whose lives we are putting on stage here tonight. You are not forgotten.
Respectfully,
Anita La Selva
Stones is a co-production between Aluna Theatre and The Stones Project. Performances runs May 26 – June 10, 2018 at Geary Lane Studios, 360 Geary Lane. For more info and tickets, click here.