#BTS: ALTHEA OF #FUTUREWOMEN

FUTUREWOMEN: AN ALTERNATE REALITY SERIES CHRONICLES THE DEVELOPMENT OF MA(S)KING HER, A DANCE THEATER WORK OF SPECULATIVE FICTION ABOUT EMPOWERED FUTURE BEINGS AND JOURNEYWOMEN. 

Pre-workshop Althea: 'Althea Altamont' is a pragmatic empath who was raised to value excellence in/of service above all other endeavors. However, she is also a recovering people-pleaser. Althea is a composite of the dutiful/ smart/ loving/ multitasking/ multitalented/ resilient/ fluid/ sensual/ secular/ spiritual Black women (and girls) who seek safe space, mobility and to live and love unapologetically, on their own terms. These are women I've known/been and dreamt of.

Workshopped Althea: Having had the advantage of running two cycles of our 'Black Feminist Futures' workshop series during our Crossing Boundaries residency quite literally helped put flesh on Althea's narrative and motivations. From the convergence of my own initial frame of 'Althea' and our BFF participants' enthusiastically nuanced contributions to her story, Althea is emerging as the most earthbound/secular character of 'Ma(s)king Her'.

Post-Workshop Althea: Since the finale of our Crossing Boundaries residency & BFF workshop series, we continue to perform work-in-progress iterations (to enthralled audiences, by the way). Without giving too much away about how I/we are continuing to sift through and synthesize all the great ideas we've gleaned, I see Althea heading in a direction that is distinct-yet-kindred with the other characters---Isis, Peppa & Wonder. Althea's not so much a 'lone wolf' as much as she is a 'woman on fire' who discovers she is as influential as she is influenced!

Written by Felicia Holman Co-Founder/Communications Director of Honey Pot Performance