OVARYACTING by Bridget McKevitt “A Solo Performance of My Own Design”

Abstract

“Stop joking around and act your age!” is a complaint that I’ve heard, somewhat like a broken record, my entire life. I often wonder, how does a woman my age act, exactly? If you prick us, do we not bleed? Some believe, as the saying goes, “There is a grain of truth in every joke,” or “a joke is truth wrapped in a smile.” But is there really truth in every joke? The purpose behind creating my solo performance was to explore whether or not there is; theorizing that when you add comedy to drama it becomes more human.Stop joking around and act your age!” is a complaint that I’ve heard, somewhat like a broken record, my entire life. I often wonder, how does a woman my age act, exactly? If you prick us, do we not bleed? Over 50 percent of the population menstruates, has menstruated, or will menstruate. Stigmatizing menstruation creates a culture where cisgender men are able to go about the world without censoring themselves, while everyone for whom periods are a part of everyday life has to worry about both what they talk about and what they're logistically able to do given the lack of accommodations for menstruating people. Women are only human. We fart. And urinate and defecate and bleed. And I want to talk about it. As the saying goes, “There is a grain of truth in every joke,” or “a joke is truth wrapped in a smile.” But is there really truth in every joke? The purpose behind creating my solo performance was to explore whether or not there is; theorizing that when you add comedy to drama it becomes more human.