Powerful performances, mixed media convey immigrant history across generations
“Reasons for Moving” at the Southern Theater showcased an interdisciplinary performance that captured the story of three individuals whose immigrant backgrounds varied as first, second and third generations, but whose struggles for belonging threaded their tales together.
The production starred Kalala Kiwanuka-Woernle, whose mother left Uganda for the UK and later came to the U.S. on a student visa; Mai Moua Thao, born in a refugee camp in Thailand; and Skye Reddy, whose family lost their ancestral homelands in the colonial partition of South Asia. The performance’s title comes from a line in the poem “Keeping Things Whole,” by Mark Strand.
Each performer took to the stage carrying the weight of their family’s journeys and experiences. Through a mix of choreographed dancing, prose, beautifully laid out projections, and stand-up comedy, the show enveloped audiences in the stories of the performers that spanned generations and rooted itself in an unapologetic sense of honesty.
The show began with ethereal performances by the cast, whose coordinated movements and flowing style, complimented by the mixed media projections on stage, captured the audience’s imagination. Prior to the beginning of the show the audience was advised to sit as close and central to the stage as possible to better their viewing experience.
The production’s sense of intimacy through this proximity to the stage, matched with the personal storytelling of the performers, made the experience of the production feel as though it was something to cherish, similar to a good friend divulging personal information and trusting you with their most vulnerable secrets. The stories of their family’s or personal immigrant experiences weighed heavily in the air as they transmuted their stories to the stage.
Director Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento explained that the production is not a documentary performance, but rather served as a mix of fact and fiction. “It highlights how transgenerational memory is transmitted: Our imagination fills the gaps in the stories told by our elders,” she said. Nascimento also serves as the chair of theater and dance at Macalester College in Saint Paul, where she first worked with the performers as students.
Reddy echoed this point, stating that “coming from cultures that traditionally do not have a strong written tradition, the stories of previous generations have died with them. “Reasons for Moving” has given me an avenue to ask questions about my family’s origins that I didn’t even think to ask until we began creating.”
Kiwanuka-Woernle found that the production “grounds the personal to the universal in an interdisciplinary performative structure.” She added, “‘Reasons for Moving’ challenges the idea that the immigrant experience is monolithic.’”
In the show, Kiwanuka-Woernle embodied her mother as a character on stage, taking the audience through the process she had to overcome as a student in the United States looking for stability and the peace of mind to call this new place home. With an impressive range of performances, Kiwanuka-Woernle showcased both her pride and insecurities on stage as she planted her stake in the ground, mapping her own identity and speaking boldly with assurance.
Thao’s performance was gripping as she pulled from childhood memories in Thailand to speak on the difficult challenges she’s endured in this country. Her tale helped capture a piece of the larger Hmong American experience that is often left out of mainstream discourse. “The Hmong community is a stateless nation. Displacement and migration have always been a part of the people’s history. They are actually connected by history of moving away and moving forward,” she stated.
Audiences who attend this production are set for an engaging show that also holds a surprise element of audience participation. Be sure to come bearing questions in mind, but also be prepared to leave posing questions to yourself about your own journey to where you now call home.
“Reasons for Moving” ran at the Southern Theater until June 30. Find more info here southerntheater.org/shows/reasons-for-moving