“Let me be: Grandma, Mama, and Me” is a show that delves into themes of grief, matriarchal relationships, death and Ugandan folklore. The show was written and directed by Sarah Nansubuga, a theater doctoral student. This show was based off another original one-woman show written by Nansubuga for her final thesis for her master of fine arts.
The show takes viewers through an emotional rollercoaster, from laughing at comedic lines to being brought to tears by the ending. It’s a story involving four women working to navigate life when losing a loved one and what it means to be a woman in a third-world country, what it means to leave and return, and what it means to be a daughter.
The inspiration came about to Nansubuga about four years before the one-woman show when her grandmother died. During this time, she described feeling growing pains with her own mother.
“I realized there’s a lot of things I don’t know about either woman. And that’s, that’s what inspired [the show], she said. It came from a place of loss, grief, anger, just trying to understand why mothers behave the way that they do.”
The show highlighted Ugandan culture and folklore through storytelling. This enhanced the emotional impact of the performances and built the characters’ relationships.
“It’s not recorded in the academic way where it’s written down, it’s passed down. And because of just generational disconnect some of those linkages are being missed,” she said.
Nansubuga said that the stories told in her play are very different from the original source material.
“I’m interested in creating a blueprint, for how folklore changes when it’s translated into different mediums,” she said. “It’s something that I hope to continue to do, to just continue to include folklore in my general theatre practice.”
The entire company is passionate about their roles in bringing the show to life, and that translates to the performance. One of the actresses, Simone Jackson is a film and TV junior who played Natasha, the daughter in the play.
“When preparing for the role, while this was something that Sarah wrote, at first I was a little bit apprehensive because I thought that she would spoon-feed us what she wanted,” Jackson said. “But she left that to us. It was something where I really could channel experiences that I’ve had with my mother and my grandmother, even things that I’ve witnessed other people have.”
Kayla Short, fifth-year theater major, portrays the role of Mama in the production. For Short, the key to playing her role was channeling her mother.
“It’s harder because I’m playing on the opposite side of the situation that’s familiar to me. A lot of the things that my character says my mom has actually said, almost verbatim, so instead of thinking how my mom made me feel, I think of exactly what she said and how I remember it and then that helps me become the character,” she said.
Theater senior Caitlyn Gilliam said her experiences working as the stage manager for the production showed her how interesting original play development can be.
“I feel like with original shows there is something fun about being able to change things and having the potential to rewrite the show as you develop,” she said. “Who you’re working with is actually affecting what this show is. I think that’s been really cool.”
The play focuses on generational cycles and the ties between familial bonds and your identity. Part of the journey can help audience members to experience broader themes through the lives of the characters.
“What I’ve gained is trying to communicate, trying to understand where your mom is coming from for certain things,” Jackson said. “Everybody goes through these trials and tribulations with their mothers, with their daughters, with their grandmothers. It’s not just a normal friendship, you hold so much with your mom. And you’re half of her so I really hope that that has people looking back on their situations.”
Nansubuga said she hopes audiences can rediscover the joy of sitting down and listening to a story, and relating to the universal experience of relations to motherhood.
“It changes based on context, but I hope that when they watch it, they can see a woman that they’ve seen before. And hopefully this show can shed light on perhaps why that woman behaves the way she does,” she said.
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Courtesy of Heyjin Kwon
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Courtesy of Heyjin Kwon
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Courtesy of Heyjin Kwon
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