Guide to the Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective Collection
Jenny George
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
657 Mission Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, California 94105
Phone: (415) 777-5455
Fax: (415) 777-5576
Email: info@glbthistory.org
URL: http://www.glbthistory.org/
© 2008
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective Collection
Collection number: 1999-44
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
San Francisco, California
- Processed by:
- Jenny George
- Date Completed:
- May 2008
- Encoded by:
- Heather Cummins
© 2008 The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Guide to the Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective Collection
Dates: 1976-1999
Collection number: 1999-44
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Collection Size:
6 linear feet
11 boxes, 1 oversize folder
Repository:
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
San Francisco, California 94105
Abstract: The Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective collection is composed of scripts, "Extra
Pieces" (writing not included in scripts), newsletters, flyers, administrative files,
photographs, and various audio-visual materials that reflect the activities of this women's
theater group that began in 1976, and were still active when they donated the collection in 1999.
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective performed to promote feminist education and addressed such
topics as women's roles in society, lesbianism, motherhood, and religion.
Physical location: Stored at the Archives of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society of San Francisco, California
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
Mothertongue retains copyright on all scripts, GLBTHS holds copyright on the balance of the collection.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Name of Series], Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective Collection, 1999-44, The Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
Acquisition Information
Ida VSW Red and Corinne Sue Wick donated the Mothertongue collection to the GLBTHS in July of 1999.
Biography / Administrative History
The Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective began out of the Women's Speaker's Bureau (now the Women's Speaker's Network).
Lani Silver of the WSB spoke at a WSB-sponsored Women and Violence Conference in the fall of 1976; four other women performed
a reader's theatre script at the event. Here, the women met and shared material; after the conference they began to develop
other scripts to perform independently at women's coffee houses. The goals of the group (originally called Mothertongue Reader's
Theatre) were feminist education and consciousness-raising. The group addressed such topics as sex roles, body image, lesbianism,
motherhood, and spirituality. Over the next decade, the theater group grew, taking on public speaking engagements and performing
at benefits. Despite the growing size of the collective (75 members by the mid-eighties), the group still remained non-hierarchical,
developing scripts collectively and administrating through consensus. Disagreements were worked out through conflict resolution;
the group was consistently committed to equality between members as opposed to hierarchical rank. A complete history of Mothertongue
is included in the collection: "Me, You, Them," by Judy Sanders, is a 200 page text documenting the collective from its inception
in 1976 through the late eighties, when the text was written (file 5/4). It includes detailed history and political goals
of the group, as well as extensive interviews with group members. Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective was still meeting
and performing when the founding members donated this collection in 1999.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Mothertongue collection has 2 main parts. The first section in boxes 1 through 4 is comprised of original scripts; the
scripts are compilations of short pieces, poems, monologues, and dialogues written both by women in the collective and by
non-members in the community. The scripts document the personal lives and concerns of the writers, especially as relating
to 1970s feminist politics; many pieces are deeply emotional, reflecting anger and personal pain, while others are humorous
or erotic. Most scripts contain handwritten production notes. The scripts are filed in alphabetical order, with the date
of production noted. Also included are "Extra Pieces," drafts of writing not included in any script. These pieces are organized
alphabetically by the first word of the piece, although they are not alphabetized within each letter.
The remainder of the collection is comprised of the Mothertongue administrative files, flyers and newsletters, photographs
of shows, and videotapes. The administrative files include contracts and funding sources, records of specific performance
venues, and correspondence relating to the group. The correspondence section contains mostly business letters, but also letters
from the community responding to Mothertongue's politics; the files contain both positive feedback and disapproval over lesbian
content performed in public places. Also of interest in the administrative files is the detailed record of a conflict resolution
meeting in 1990; as part of its commitment to non-hierarchy, the group hired a professional mediator to resolve a dispute
between members. Because Ida VSW RED had already organized the collection before donating it to GLHS, the collection remains
in nearly the same order as when donated; file headings and titles have been kept.
The collection also contains one oversize box of posters and paper props, as well as five display boards decorated with a
collage of photographs, programs, and colorful flyers documenting the group's production history. There is one t-shirt with
Mothertongue logo in the t-shirt collection.
Arrangement
This collection is organized in 11 series:
- Series 1. Scripts
- Series 2. Extra Pieces
- Series 3. Newsletters and Flyers
- Series 4. Notes
- Series 5. Administrative Files
- Series 6. Performance
- Series 7. Other Political/Theater Groups
- Series 8. Audio-Visual Items
- Series 9. Photographs
- Series 10. Posters (Oversize Materials
- Series 11. Artifacts
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Theater
Feminism
Lesbians
Related Material
Oral History of Ida VSW Red: 95-041
The San Francisco Women's Building Collection (1995-15)
Box 1, 2, 3
Series 1. Scripts
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 1/1
Adoption and Surrender
1991
Box/ Folder 1/2
Anger and Still Anger
1977, 1987-1994
Box/ Folder 1/6
Did You Come Or Fake It?
1985
Box/ Folder 1/7
Did You Say 'Mirth'? No! I Said Yashkerkahs! Women's Humor
1991
Box/ Folder 1/8
A Dozen Years Of Mothertongue
1986
Box/ Folder 1/10
Endangered Voices? Dangerous Lives
Box/ Folder 2/2
Grandma Never Earned A Nickel
Box/ Folder 2/3
Jewish Women and Friends
1992
Box/ Folder 2/10
Mothers and Daughters
1986
Box/ Folder 2/11
Mothertongue Witches
1977
Box/ Folder 3/2
Retrospective for 10th Anniversary
1986
Box/ Folder 3/7
Woman Is (early script)
1976
Box/ Folder 3/8
Women and HIV: Eat Rice Have Faith In Women
1990
Box 4, 5
Series 2. Extra Pieces
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 5/3
Journal and Early Scripts
Box/ Folder 5/4
You, Me, Them (Judy Sanders)
Box/ Folder 5/5
MT Feminist Theater Collective: The First Twenty Years An Index by Ida VSW Red 1976-1996
1996
Box/ Folder 5/6
Mothertongue Handbook
1993
Box 6
Series 3. Newsletters and Flyers
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box 7
Series 4. Notes
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box 7, 8
Series 5. Administrative Files
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 7/10
National Woman's Mailing List
1986
Box/ Folder 7/21
Funding Sources
1986-1987
Box/ Folder 7/22
Organizational Resources
1987
Box/ Folder 7/23
Women's Building
1990-1996
Box/ Folder 7/24
Gay and Lesbian Historical Society
1990
Box/ Folder 8/3
Reviews and Articles
1986-1992
Box 8
Series 6. Performance
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 8/8
Performance Technique
1985
Box/ Folder 8/15
SF Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day
1990-1992
Box/ Folder 8/16
National Festival of Women's Theater
1993-1994
Box/ Folder 8/17
National Lesbian Conference
1991
Box/ Folder 8/18
Out Write Conference
1990
Box/ Folder 8/19
Theater Bay Area
1988, 1991
Box/ Folder 8/20
West Coast Lesbians Festival
1992
Box/ Folder 8/21
West Coast Women and Theater Conference
1984-1988
Box/ Folder 8/22
West Coast Women's Music and Comedy
1980-1981
Box 9
Series 7. Other Political/Theater Groups
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 9/1
Women Against Imperialism
1991
Box/ Folder 9/4
People's Theater Coalition
1980
Box/ Folder 9/6
American Theater Association: The Women's Program
1984, 1988
Box/ Folder 9/7
AIDS, Female Circumcision, and African Women
Box 9
Series 8. Audio-Visual Items
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 9/11
Video: Benefit for Sealed Records/Sealed Lives
1988
Box/ Folder 9/13
Video: 20th Anniversary
1996
Box/ Folder 9/14
Video: Virginia's Play
1999
Box/ Folder 9/16
Video: Sampler From Four Scripts
Box/ Folder 9/17
Video: Mothertongue on Electric City
Box/ Folder 9/18
Audio: Lesbian Erotica
1993
Box 10
Series 9. Photographs
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 10/1
Performance at Women's Building (color snapshots)
Box/ Folder 10/2
Performance at Women's Building (color snapshots)
Box/ Folder 10/3
Formal Performance at La Pena
Box/ Folder 10/4
Informal Performance at La Pena (color snapshots)
Box/ Folder 10/6
Black and White Snapshots
Box 11
Series 10. Posters (Oversize Materials)
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
Box/ Folder 11/1
Publicity posters, paper cut outs
Box/ Folder 11/2
Five display boards
1982-1996
Box Carton 4
Series 11. Artifacts
Creator:
Mothertongue Feminist Theater Collective
