February
into March 2018
It
is homecoming month for me, Aphra Behn, Guerrilla Girl On Tour and on my way back
to two places which have been very important to me – so important that I write
about them both in my memoir UN/MASKED, Memoirs of a Guerrilla Girl On Tour.
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| Back to Brockport! |
On
February 20th I returned to my alma mater – SUNY Brockport where I
received my undergraduate degree in theatre. I wrote extensively about my
college days in my book - mostly about the fact that I was sexually assaulted
by a professor in the theatre department.
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| With Dr. Panning and Dr. LaSavoy |
I
was a bit nervous about my return the Brockport so I contacted the coordinator
of Brockport’s Writers Forum, Dr. Anne Panning, to discuss with her
how I could maximize my impact on campus. I should not have been worried for
Anne Panning completely understood how important it might be for me to talk
about sexual assault to the current student body on the very grounds where it
happened. She was completely with me when I told her this was an important
moment for me and talked about how I might make the most of my return to
Brockport. We decided to take advantage of time and she scheduled a full two
days for me to mingle and talk with as many students and faculty as time would
allow.
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| Women's and Gender Studies Rock Star Students at SUNY BROCKPORT |
I
flew into Rochester and rented a car.
So many times I had taken the road to Brockport but since it had been
about 35 years since I had been to Brockport I found myself driving on new
roads and unfamiliar routes. No wonder I made a stop at the Brockport Diner as
soon as I found it in the same spot I left it. My first waitressing job was at the Diner – the graveyard
shift from midnight to 7AM.
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| Back at the Brockport Diner |
SUNY
Brockport’s campus is twice the size it once was but the main road through
campus was the same. It was raining when I parked illegally in the faculty
parking lot at the Fine Arts Building and dashed inside for a quick look at the
theatre department. It was deserted – none of the bustle and noise of the days
when the department boasted 200 majors. I found the main stage open – a half
painted set in the middle of the stage.
A floodgate of memoires opened and washed over me. Everything was eerily
familiar. I knew my next stop would be the creepy predator professor’s
old office. I had to laugh when I found it was now a janitors closet. Revenge is sweet.
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| Creepy Professor B's former office. |
After
that all apprehensions melted away. My return to Brockport turned into one big
love fest.
Lucky
me - I got to speak to students at a Women’s and Gender Studies class (with Dr.
Barb LeSavoy), a theatre class (with P. Gibson Ralph and Dr. Davida Bloom). The
smiling face of Dr. Oh-Kon Cho appeared – he came to Brockport just as I was
graduating and gave me a very warm welcome back. We reminisced about the days I
was a student and there were 17 full time theatre faculty on staff.
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| With Dr. Oh-Kon Cho |
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| Interviewed by Barb and Anne for Writers Forum Brockport |
During
my visit I was interviewed by Dr. Panning and Dr. LeSavoy for the Writers Forum
archives which date back to 1968 and include interviews with major authors
including (Guerrilla Girl) Anne Sexton. I had lunch and got to chat with some
amazing Women’s Studies students. I fielded smart, funny questions from an
English creative writing class (who had all ready my book). And I had the
chance to make a trip back to the Lift Bridge Bookstore – the site of my feminist
awakening. (See UN/MASKED and the story of finding a copy of “Our Bodies
Ourselves” there circa 1974.) Of
course it was kismet that they had a used copy of Our Bodies Ourselves which
I snapped up for a giveaway at my reading that night.
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| With the winner of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" |
What
can I say about the Brockport audience that won’t sound mushy except to report
that they sure knew how to welcome me home. As I walked onto the stage they
held hand made gorilla masks to their faces and laughed. What a welcome. Even the awesome Brockport President,
Dr. Heidi Macpherson, was there. I signed many books and left with my heart
full of a tremendous feeling of gratitude at how far my journey has come. Thank you, Brockport.
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| Decorated Gorilla Masks |
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| The crowd at Brocport |
Onwards
to kick off Women’s History Month at another town full of memories - Scranton
Pa – the city which hosted the world premiere of my play, JOAN, in 1999 (which
won a Jason Miller Prize from the Scranton Times for best production). In Scranton, I was artistic director of
the now defunct TNT theatre for two years.
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| At U of Scranton |
I
am in Scranton at the invitation of the University of Scranton (and Dr. Jamie Trnka)
which is the home of many super savvy feminist students. 17 of them participated
in my poster making workshop the evening I arrived, creating 4 provocative
posters (which now grace the walls of the women’s center).
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| U of Scranton Workshop Artists! |
The following evening I presented “PUSH/PUSHBACK, 9 steps to make a difference withart and activism” that night as part of U of Scranton’s Schemel Forum. A mix of students and Scrantonites filled
the audience, mostly the back rows.
One audience member explained it this way, “We’re catholic. We like to
sit in the back!”
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| The U of Scranton Audience |
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| With Peggy Lee of local Chanel 16 |
The
local news showed up and so did the campus paper. While the Jesuits were a more subdued crowd then Brockport
they nonetheless offered crisp attention, spurts of laughter and many nods of support
for the feminist issues I raised. And of course they had some of the smartest
questions I have ever received during the ending Q and A.
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| U of Scranton POSTER by Workshop Participants |
It was pouring rain as I left both Brockport and Scranton. But my spirits were as high as they
have ever been. As I drive home from Scranton, I recall the strong poster on racism a group of students created during the poster workshop - expressions of pain rain down on women of color. I have shared some of my own pain as a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence and it feels right. I have shared some of the tactics of the Girls with the hopes that that others may now utilize them to push against our predator president and patriarchy. These past few days remind me how lucky and grateful I am to have had the opportunity to go back and meet new people from the places where I have so much herstory.
With
much love,
Aphra
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| Full Circle - Back at the Lift Bridge Book Store where a Book inspired me to be a feminist. |
