Written and performed by Willa Marie O’Donnell.
This piece was created as part of my Senior Project for the Chicago Waldorf School. It is the representation of a female martial artist’s experience told through movement and language. The stories shared in the piece were collected during interviews I conducted with three of my most trusted mentors at Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center as well as some of my own stories. I have also drawn from folklore depicting women martial artists from the past in order to give the sense that our stories are part of a long and always evolving experience. It was important to me to create a project that would encompass my interest and passion for both martial arts and theater arts.