Myth & Marrow: A Labor Pains Script

Currently In Development Myth & Marrow is the performance heartbeat of the Labor Pains Project. It is an exploration of the past to reshape our economic future.

The Performance This work is evolving into two distinct iterations. The first is an ensemble script featuring four Black women and two Black men, debuting in Spring 2026 at the historic Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence in Albany, NY. The second is an intimate performance piece featuring myself alongside a quartet of musicians.

The Framework At its core, the script revolves around the retelling of three African American folktales. But these are not just retellings; they are deconstructions. We analyze these ancestral stories through the modern lenses of Stratification Economics, Critical Race Theory, and Womanism.

By weaving together archival research with the contemporary oral histories and somatic body maps collected through the Labor Pains project, the script exposes a critical truth: American capitalism has succeeded on the back of the Black woman’s care economy, while offering her a gross deficit of care in return.

The Goal This script is a bold act of advocacy. We posit that economic policies centering Black women will ultimately improve the quality of life for everyone. Myth & Marrow is where data meets drama, and where our stories become the blueprint for healing.