BOLD Locations

Maui, Hawaii

Well ladies and gentlemen ... we did it. We rocked Maui. Our three performances were phenomenal, if I have to say so myself. At the first performance there were over 200 people in attendance. The audience, laughed, cried and were with us in every moment. We got a standing ovation at the end. Midwives came from outer islands and the Big Island midwives want to pay our way, all expenses paid, to the Big Island to perform over there. Tears of joy streamed down my face as we went off the stage for the last time ...we did it, we did it, we DID it! The Maui News (our biggest newspaper) is made us the Feature of the Week for our September 15th show. Another newspaper is did an Arts and Entertainment feature on us. (for all BOLD Maui press click here)

You would think I would be exhausted after our second performance ... especially since there was a talkback after the show and we had to move all of the furniture out of the theatre when we were done but .... there I was, up at 1:49am, typing the Maui report to other BOLD Organizers. At this show there were 166 tickets sold ... for Maui on a Saturday night for BIRTH, these are fabulous numbers. The show tonight had a different crowd. Last week, the midwives from all of the island came.This time, the crowd was a diverse group of teenagers, pregnant moms, infants, older people ... people of all ages and stages ... they totally rode the waves with us and it was spectacular.

The talkback was better than I could have ever imagined. I totally left it in the hands of my midwife sister (who was at a birth and couldn't attend) who did a grand job ... we had a male facilitator whose wife is pregnant ... there was a OB/GYN, Lay Midwife, Certified Nurse Midwife, Neo Natal Nurse and a Doula. It was so rich and so informative. Everyone on the panel agreed that the play depicted what is really going on. The OB answered the questions just as easily as the midwife, it was absolutely beautiful ... they have ideas about what we could do to improve maternity care on Maui ... have 24 hour – 7 days per week Doulas at the hospital available free of charge so that every woman can have a doula if she wants .... have birthing tubs in each room ... there was talk about some changes coming in the hospital which includes dads being able to spend the night which is a BIG one for our Maui Memorial. Everyone LOVED the talkback

I am truly humbled by the comments that have been coming my way and this whole thing does not even seem real. Here is a summary of what we got:

"more men should see this performance, this was an amazing show, moving, uplifting, concerning and informative

"I feel more open to women who choose to have hospital births"

"This was a very moving experience"

"I very much enjoyed the experience. Thank you. I think we need so much more of this kind of thing so women become aware of their choices"

"It opens my view of choice and how choices can change during the whole process ... great ... mahalos ... it really makes me want to become a doula now"

Ok ... the last performance…picture this ... I went on stage and did the intro, the crowd was so overwhelming that I was brought to tears and couldn't finish. Then ... the actresses were in their places to go on stage, I went off stage to join them on the other side to begin but ... I couldn't find the entrance to the stage so(turns out that there was a black curtain but in the dark I thought it was a wall) ... I ran to the other end and then ran back (thinking I was going crazy) ... then the actresses were on stage, Amanda was doing her "dog part" and I was next ... I ran back again and finally found my way to the stage, gasping for breath with the lines " when I was little ..." Twilight zone or what. It worked out OK though because everyone thought I was still emotional from the intro (whew).

Since the crowd was much bigger I think that we projected more and just basically "showed off" ... it was our strongest performance of the three and the crowd loved it.

We had an “after-BIRTH” party that was outrageous ... Indian, Ethiopian and Jamaican food (which totally sold out) and music from our local Marimba ensemble ... out of this world. The after-Birth was located in a Market less than 2 minutes away from the theatre, as soon as we were exiting the theatre the music drew us there. The proprietor of the marketplace said he had never seen anything like it. I found out this morning that Woody Harrelson and his wife Laura Louie were in the crowd and had a ball.

Here are a couple of e-mails that I got this morning:

Mahola a nui. Last night, I saw BIRTH at the Iao Theatre.

"I'm not a mom (yet), but feel closer to being one. I actually feel closer to my own mom, in a way.
Watching the play was inspiring in so many ways. Words cannot express how much of an impact this
production (and the after-party!) have had on my life already. Thank you so, so much."

"Best 20 bucks I've spent in awhile ... it was super to be watching the spirits of these actresses share the
greater birth story. I was moved over and over again. Recalling my own 3 birth experiences and feeling
deeply blessed for my stories of each birth.My heart goes out to women world wide who don't have this experience of a blissful easy birth. I now have a deeper empathy. thanks for bringing it home."

One of our actresses presented us with gifts during intermission ... a scrapbook ... one page for each of us with pictures she has taken along the way. We each signed each other's books like a yearbook. What a fabulous idea.

And one of my best moments? When my 13 year old son said "mom ... I really didn't want to go see it but ... it was awesome!!!!  I want to come see it again." 

Thanks to all for the journey ... and thank you Karen Brody for helping bring the consciousness of all beings to a higher level. You are da bomb!!!!! This is an unbelievable project and I feel so very blessed to be a part of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In addition to the continuous stories of healing, empowerment and inspiration that women and men  alike have been passing along about BIRTH, the play also helped to prompt a Landmark Meeting on Sunday, October 14th.  For the very first time OB's, Nurses, Midwives and Doulas sat in a room together, had friendly conversation, shared food and talked about how we can improve Maternity Care on Maui.  It was absolutely the best and will continue!

Lots of Love from paradise!