Spiderwoman Theater facts for kids

Spiderwoman Theater is a special group of Native American women who perform on stage. They mix old traditions with modern theater styles. The group is named after Spider Grandmother, a wise teacher from Hopi mythology. It is the longest-running Native American theater company in the United States.

Spiderwoman Theater started in 1976 in New York City. It was part of the feminist movement of the 1970s. The group included both Native American and non-Native women. They wanted to question old ideas about gender roles and how people were treated. Today, the main members are three sisters: Muriel Miguel, Gloria Miguel, and Lisa Mayo. This group was the first Native American women's theater troupe to become famous around the world.

The Story of Spiderwoman Theater

Spiderwoman Theater began in 1976. Muriel Miguel brought together a group of different women. Her two sisters were part of this first group. They came from various backgrounds and had different ideas. The group grew out of the feminist movement of the 1970s. They wanted to show how women were treated in society.

Muriel Miguel and Lois Weaver created a special way of performing. They called it storyweaving. It mixed acting games, movement, and personal stories. This style was inspired by the Hopi goddess Spiderwoman, who taught people how to weave.

Early Plays and Tours

Their first play was called Women in Violence. It opened at a church in Washington Square. The play shared the actors' personal stories about facing difficult situations. It mixed serious topics with funny, silly parts. They used simple lights and a backdrop made of Native American quilts. The play was shown in the United States and Europe.

In France, the women refused to clean the stage before their show. This upset some people. Later, a show in Italy was cancelled because of worries about trouble. In 1977, they performed their second play, The Lysistrata Numbah!. This play combined an old Greek story by Aristophanes with the group's own experiences.

In 1978, the group performed in Europe again. In Berlin, their luggage got lost. They had to borrow costumes from another theater group called Hot Peaches. This group was mostly drag queens, which led to some funny moments. There, they met Peggy Shaw, who later joined Spiderwoman.

Changes and New Focus

In 1981, the group split into two. One new group, Split Britches, included Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw. Spiderwoman Theater continued with the three sisters. They started to focus more on issues important to Native American people.

Their play Sun, Moon and Feather came out that year. Another play, Winnetou's Snake Oil Show from Wigwam City, made fun of how some Europeans are obsessed with Native Americans. It poked fun at fake Native American spiritual leaders. The play showed a workshop where white people could "become Indians" for a weekend for a lot of money. The group said this play was a way to take back their identity as Native American women. They even made another play, Reverb-ber-ber-rations, from leftover ideas.

Spiderwoman Theater's early plays, Women In Violence and Lysistrata Numbah!, were shown in a big art exhibit in Los Angeles in 2007. Muriel Miguel was also featured in a documentary about theater groups by people of color.

Honors and Archives

In 1997, the Native American Women Playwrights Archive (NAWPA) was created. It keeps documents and items related to Spiderwoman Theater. It also holds writings by other Native American women in theater.

Spiderwoman Theater has received many awards over the years. In 1997, they got honorary degrees from Miami University. In 2005, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian honored them in an exhibit. In 2010, they received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Founders of Spiderwoman Theater

Spiderwoman Theater was started by three sisters: Muriel Miguel, Gloria Miguel, and Lisa Mayo (whose real name was Elizabeth Miguel). They are from the Kuna and Rappahannock tribes. They grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Their mother and grandmother also grew up in Brooklyn. Their father was a Kuna Indian born in the San Blas Islands near Panama.

Muriel said their father sometimes performed dances and "snake oil shows" to earn money. The sisters felt embarrassed by these shows. They wanted to be part of more professional theater instead of being seen as a "cliché."

Muriel Miguel

Muriel Miguel helped start the Native American Theatre Ensemble. She is a dancer, writer, actor, and teacher. She brought together the diverse group of women who formed Spiderwoman Theater. She also taught theater at Bard College. Muriel was also a founding member of Joseph Chaikin's Open Theater.

Gloria Miguel

Gloria Miguel studied drama at Oberlin College. She has worked a lot in television and theater. With Spiderwoman, she has toured in New Zealand, Australia, and Europe. She also taught drama at the YMCA in Brooklyn. She is the mother of Monique Mojica, who is also a playwright and actress.

Lisa Mayo

Lisa Mayo (1924-2013) was a trained singer. She also studied dance and musical comedy. She wrote and performed in more than 20 plays for Spiderwoman Theater. She toured with the group in many countries, including New Zealand, Europe, Australia, China, and Canada. She created two one-woman shows. Lisa also taught theater skills to young people.

Works and Performances

Spiderwoman Theater has created many plays. Some of their plays have been printed in books of plays:

• "Sun, Moon, and Feather"
• "Power Pipes"
• "Winnetou's Snake Oil Show from Wigwam City"
• "Reverb-ber-ber-rations"
• "Trail of the Otter"
• "Hot 'n' Soft"

Other plays and works include:

• "Red Mother" (a one-woman play)
• "Persistence of Memory" (about healing through stories and stereotypes)
• Women in Violence (1977)
• Lysistrata Numbah! (1977)
• The Trilogy of: My Sister Ate Dirt, Jealousy and Friday Night (1978)
• Cabaret: An Evening of Disgusting Songs and Pukey Images (1979)
• Oh, What a Life (1980)
• The Fittin' Room (1980)
• Material Witness (2016)
• Fear of Oatmeal (2018): After this play, Muriel Miguel received a big award.
• Town of Little Sagas (2021): A podcast series about an imaginary Native town.
• Misdemeanor Dream (2022)