1.

A Touch of Goddesspell aka Guardians of Gaia came out of the need

to introduce some topics that you were working with in Goddesspell
the Musical. What part of working on this prequel to Goddesspell the
Musical has been most beneficial and why was it important to step
away and work on A Touch of Goddesspell before finishing Goddesspell
the Musical? The idea of Goddesspell as a musical theatre piece came
out of the desire to really look at the ways we devalue the feminine
spirit or yin energy and the effects that this has not only on us
personally but on humanity in general. The glorification of masculine
energy at the expense of the feminine principle is reflected in our
world in many ways that we have come to just accept as normal
including seeing God as a man. Goddesspell, up until last year was a
concept in my mind and on paper. When we (The Pacha Mamas) really
started developing it as an actual living breathing show, we realized
that in order to address all the goddess archetypes that we would be
presenting with integrity, the process was going to take much more
time and resources than we originally thought. At the same time, we
all were feeling concern for the environment, our Mother Earth, and the
critical place we are with those issues. It occurred to us that our
misuse and abuse of our natural resources is a direct reflection of our
devaluing of yin/feminine energy - that it is all connected. So putting
these concerns together- the length of time and the amount of
support/resources we would need to build to really do Goddesspell
justice AND our sense of urgency for transformation around the ways in
which we relate to Mother Earth, we came up with what we are calling
Guardians of Gaia AKA A Touch of Goddesspell which has elements
of what Goddesspell will be but can stand on its own as an hour long
show that we can more easily take on mini-tours (along with an
offering of a companion workshop as an opportunity to delve into the
subject deeper as a community) to mostly our familiar stomping
grounds to begin with as soon as this fall.
2. A Touch of Goddesspell is all about Mother Earth and our connection
with her, good and bad. Tell audiences a little more about why you
wanted to focus on this topic now? We are living unsustainably on the
earth right now. We are trashing the earth to be quite frank and some
people dont really want to look at that especially if they dont feel its
affecting them directly and other people are just too busy trying to
keep their own lives above water to try and deal with one more
problem so to speak. This is obviously a completely disempowering
way of looking or not looking at the issues. The fact is that what is
happening is affecting us all NOW whether we choose to look at it or
not. And here is where I will give you one quote from the end of our
little show to make this point: The earth is not a problem to be solved;
it is a living being to which we belong. The earth is part of our own self
and we are part of its suffering wholeness. Until we go to the root of
our image of separateness, there can be no healing. And the deepest

part of our separateness from creation lies in our forgetfulness of its

sacred nature, which is also our own sacred nature. The fact is, so
many of us have become completely disconnected from our inherent
and interconnected sacred nature and its being reflected in a very
unbalanced and violent world.
3. Your work as a group is a mixture of music, spoken word, movement
and exudes energy. Why did you choose to create performances that
encompassed so many art forms, and what do you want audiences to
take away from this mixture of creation? Well, I think the first thing
that comes to mind is the fact that The Pacha Mamas came together
previously having many different kinds of experiences in the
performing arts and each one of us came in with a different
specialization. For example, most of Marquettas formal artistic training
has been in dance, Vivians in music and mine in theatre. So we are all
bringing these different gifts to the table and finding that its fun and
interesting and more fulfilling for us to mix it up or combine things- not
only for us but for our audiences. All these forms compliment and add
depth to each other and its sort of a reflection of life really and the
beauty and depth that is found in the diversity of peoples gifts
especially when expressed in collaboration. In general, we want
audiences to feel energized, inspired, engaged and uplifted by what we
do and how we do it.
4. Home Brew is all about aiding local artists in developing their work,
as well as exposing Atlanta audiences to local artists. What has been
the best part of developing this piece as part of the Home Brew Series,
and how does it aid in the next steps? This opportunity has actually
been much more significant for us than I think we originally
anticipated. I am so grateful for it and we havent even had our
presentation yet because honestly it really is about the process at this
point. As individual artists, The Pacha Mamas are all piecing together
our living in very creative ways through many different means. By
most peoples standards, we live on the edge financially which is a
price many artists pay but wouldnt have it any other way out of
integrity to our creative spirit/freedom. SO to coordinate the schedules
of all three of us in order to find chunks of time to develop/create
together is very difficult. BUT when you have a deadline, you go way
out of your way to make it happen which is what we have been doing.
So at this moment the fact that we have a definite place and time to
share our work has been a huge catalyst in the actual creation of this
piece so far. We are so thankful for the sense of purpose Home Brew
has given us. The idea that there are people out there that believe in
what we are doing enough to help support us in making it happen is
HUGE. Its not that easy to get support in developing new work and it
usually requires a lot of voluntary time from the artists. I feel like the
root of this comes from a real disconnect in our culture when it comes
to the things we value in general and in particular valuing product over

process. Im looking forward to the kind of world where art and

especially the kind that really engages the audience in inquiry is truly
valued for the power that it has to help make the world a more
spiritually and emotionally healthy place, translating into more true
joy, love and peace all around!!! I believe as we begin to hold those
aspects of ourselves that are considered yin/feminine energy in much
higher esteem, creating more balance within ourselves, we will begin
to see this change in the world. Ultimately, Im hoping that Guardians
of Gaia is one of the things that helps facilitate that change and with
the help of the Home Brew program that feels much more feasible to
us. THANK YOU!!!!
(Angela Bennett on behalf of The Pacha Mamas)