‘The Madres’ Pays Tribute To Argentina’s Mothers Of The Plaza De Mayo

This is KPBS Midday Edition I am Michael Lipkin in for Marine Cavanaugh. Mother's Day is about flowers, phone calls, brunches, gift packets. It is about taking care the woman who took care of you so well. There is another side of motherhood that is not sweet or flowery. It is strong, determined, powerful. That is the side that is on view this Mother's Day weekend at Moxie theater's production of the mockeries. The story is set in Argentina during the dictatorship in the 1970s and 80s where thousands of people disappeared. The mothers of the Plaza DeMaio risk death and imprisonment to make sure the stolen children would be remembered. Joining me by Skype is director Stephanie Walker. >>> And Jennifer Eve Thorne artistic director of Moxie theater. Welcome Jennifer. Stephanie, what is your connection to the story. Why did you decide to write a play about this group of mothers. >> My mother -- stepmothers Argentine. The first time I was in Argentina was in 1980 I was five and that was in the middle of the dictatorship. I was very young. The first thing I remember seeing when we first landed in the airport in Buenos Aires with the literary with big guns. That is an image that stayed with me for a long time. It was not something I thought of consciously. It was not until I graduated from college and went to live and work in Buenos Aires that I connected that image as a five-year-old to what I started to learn about what happened in Argentina's history. I started learning when I was living there by talking to people and hearing their stories. And then I was just completely blown away by the truth of their story. And that it is it publicly known of the United States. It is not something that most people know about here. I did not start writing plays until a few years later. It wasn't until I became a mother myself that I decided to try and find a way to tell the story about one family to the lens of the women and how this history was experience. >>> This is a rolling Road premier of all my dreams what is that mean? >> We are partnering with the national new play network for this rolling world premier. It is a really exciting opportunity not only for the playwright for a new play. Simply, it means that there are several other theaters around the country that are also producing their own premier world premier of this production all within one year of each other. The reason for this is that a lot of times a new play is born, it is produced, and then it sits on the shelf waiting for a second production. This is an opportunity for an incredible play like Stephanie's to not just be premiering at Moxie but all around the country. These are different productions not the same cast, not the same artistic team. The play grows, the playwright has a chance to watch it develop. If you are lucky and third in line in the rolling world premier like the Moxie is you benefit from the experience of the previous productions. We are honored to be doing this. >>> What is your vision for this play and how does it differ from the two versions that have already been performed. >> Our vision is Stephanie's vision and I think all of the other theaters would say that we have been talking with her and really listening carefully to her inspiration for telling this story. Moxie is unique in that we as a company, our mission is focused on creating more diverse images of women. We focus on producing female playwrights. What attracted us most to the story is that it focuses on three generations of women, it lifts the voices of not just Stephanie but also the mothers of the Plaza DeMaio. >>> Are the mothers who started marching 40 years ago still marching in Argentina today? >> They are. The story is not a piece of history laid to rest. It is ongoing. Many of the children who were born in the concentration camps during this time were taken by the military. They were given out to families that were friendly with a military. Their identities were completely changed. So they grew up all these years not knowing who they are and the of boilers, the grandmothers have created a DNA database. They have been doing this work to identify the missing grandchildren and the children of the disappeared so they continue to march Nunnally to raise awareness and to get the justice they feel that they never truly got, but to continue to remind people that this is not over. >>> We have seen women in the U.S. take to the streets over the past two years and hold marches across the country. You see those marches as having anything in common with the mothers who marched in Argentina years ago ? >> I think certainly they do. When women come together and unite our voices, I think that we recognize how much strength we have. I was inspired to produce this play because I actually read it for the first time shortly after marching in DC with my own mother. She has passed me a legacy of using my voice and standing up for what I believe end. I read it this play right after marching with her. It felt like the perfect time to look back and say hey these are not the first women who are marching. We inherited a long legacy across not just the U.S. but across the world of women who have been marching, who have been standing arm in arm. I think it is time that we look back and we celebrate those women on the shoulders we stand on. We are tired of marching. That we will continue to March. >>> Stephanie, what is the message you hope that daughters and mothers going to this play this weekend can take away ? >> one of the things I was thinking I could've added to my answer before is that the slogan is never again. That is something that I believe why they are continuing to March. I believe that is something that is relevant for everybody around the world. When I wrote this play, I made it specifically about Argentina to tell the story. But also, I wanted it to parallel other stories around the world because this is happened time and again from place to place. It is one thing for us to believe that it could never happen, that's what we want to believe. That is what people wanted to believe in Argentina. But as long as we buy in to that idea that is not true, we run the danger of allowing it to happen again. We as women do have the ability to use our voices and to make sure that this does not happen again. To make sure that we do not fall asleep on our own rites. The one thing I feel very strongly about is this play does leave people with hope. There is hope in the play. The hope is that, the women are strong, resilient, and we will do whatever it takes. >>> I have been speaking with Stephanie Allison Walker the right of the Monterey's and to defer eve and artistic director of the Moxie theater. The Marjorie's runs at the Moxie Mother's Day. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.