The Bumps

written by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff

directed by Deena Selenow

Nominated to the Kilroys 2016 Honorable Mention List, The Bumps is an ongoing project in the form of a play written for a cast of three pregnant (yes, actually pregnant) performers. Part movement, part dialogue, part labor politics, The Bumpscharts how our cultural understanding of pregnancy has evolved over the years and examines what we inherit from our parents. This story about pregnancy offers a new angle on the great theatrical question: How do we make meaning as we wait? Our process of rehearsing and performing the piece asks the great human question: How do we center our arts practices around our actual lives and bodies?

For more information about The Bumps, email us.

PAST PERFORMANCES + EVENTS

PRELUDE 2017, New York, NY
October 6, 2017
Performed by Elise Peterson as 7-months, Jessica Luck as 5-months, Ying Ying Li as 3-months and Wil Petre as The Voice
Free childcare provided during the performance
Watch the footage from PRELUDE, which includes Rachel's artist talk + ACT I here 

Benefit reading organized by the cast to support Planned Parenthood, Brooklyn, NY
August 14th & 15th, 2017
Performed by Taifa Harris as 7-months, Jennifer Blood as 5-months, Jessica Luck as 3-months and Eric Clem as The Voice

Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
February 3 & 4, 2017
Performed by Deana Barone as 7-months, Cristina Fernandez as 5-months, Jeanne Syquia as 3-months, and Ari Boyland as The Voice
Movement by Jennie Liu, Scenic Design by Shannon Scrofano, Costume Design by Lena Sands, Sound Composition and Live Sound Scoring by Celia Hollander
Free childcare provided during Saturday's performance 
Presented as part of the Skirball Cultural Center's National Performance Network Residency

Bumps/Works, Women's Center for Creative Work, Los Angeles, CA
Jan 30th, 2017
An evening of performances by 6 pregnant LA-based artists, followed by a discussion about parenthood in the arts
Curated and Moderated by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff and Deena Selenow
Featuring Steffinnie Phrommany, Rebecca Aranda, Deborah Rosen, Cristina Fernandez, Kanya Iwana and Deana Barone
Free childcare provided for performers and audience members
Presented in partnership with The Skirball Cultural Center, and made possible by the National Performance Network Residency program

In Real Life: Studio series at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
December 28, 29, Jan 5, 11, 2017
Performed by Deana Barone as 7-months, Cristina Fernandez as 5-months, and Jeanne Syquia as 3-months
Presented through the In Real Life: Studio series, curated by January Parker Amos

Moskowitz Bayse, Los Angeles CA
April 3rd, 2016
Staged reading 
Performed by Sarena Kennedy as 7-months, Jennifer Neala Page as 5-months, Sara Garcia as 3-months, Matthew Bamberg-Johnson as The Voice and Camila Ascencio reading stage directions
Free childcare provided

The Women's Center for Creative Work, Los Angeles CA
January 22nd, 2016
Staged reading 
Performed by Emily Alpren as 7-months, Sarena Kennedy as 5-months, Jennifer Neala Page as 3-months, Matthew Bamberg-Johnson as The Voice and Camila Ascencio reading stage directions

PRESS

REFLECTION and conversation with Julia Felsenthal (culture critic for Vogue.com) 

FEATURED AS A PART THE BBC DOCUMENTARY UTOPIA: IN SEARCH OF THE DREAM about the history of utopian thinking in art. Take a behind the scenes look here.

INTERVIEW WITH THE PARENT ARTIST ADVOCACY LEAGUE ON THE PROCESS BEHIND THE SCENES with Rachel + Deena

REFLECTION ON THE PROJECT ON THE LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS by Alexander Borinsky

REFLECTION ON THE PROJECT ON RITING.LA by Gina Young and Zoe Aja Moore

PODCAST INTERVIEW with Rachel and Kitty Lindsay on the play for the <3 Feminist Crush <3 Podcast! 

ARTICLE FOR HOWLROUND, co-written by Rachel + Deena about envisioning a theatre that is built around our actual lives and bodies

INTERVIEW FOR CRAVE with Rachel and Alicia Eler about the play