Mother Tongue Explores The Power of Languages

On Saturday, December 3rd, the Performance Project’s 2022 First Generation Youth Ensemble premieres their newest work at City Stage in Springfield.

“Mother Tongue” is an original multilingual physical theater performance, created by Springfield-based First Generation Ensemble. The piece is inspired by events and family stories from Congo/Tanzania, Bhutan/Nepal, South Sudan, Holyoke, and Springfield.

“Mother Tongue” incorporates movement, music, dance, and storytelling, weaving together Arabic, Swahili, Nepali, and English. The play was developed by members of First Generation, an intensive intergenerational arts and youth leadership program that honors the stories and lives of youth who identify as ‘first generation’: first in their families to grow up in the US, speak English, graduate high school, go to college, be incarcerated, be an activist, be openly LGBTQ+, be a feminist, break a silence, or any other first. First Generation is a part of the Performance Project, which has been creating original theater and art in collaboration with communities in Hampshire and Hampden counties since 2000.