Stretch Marks

“Eight months ago, I found out I was pregnant. Two weeks later, the whole world shut down. No eating out, no bars, no liquor stores on Mondays – nothing. I had made up my mind. I was going to get an abortion.”  

Sasha, a pregnant, trans racial adoptee, attempts to beat her gestational clock as she battles with her past, present, and future to decide whether she should keep her unplanned child or place them for adoption. 

This piece is part of a three-part series of one-woman shows that explore the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual imbalances of oncoming motherhood and themes of young Black motherhood and the cyclical and familial trauma that motherhood can encompass. Over the span of ten moons, the audience follows the protagonist through the decision-making process of whether she should follow in her biological mother’s footsteps or forge a path of her own. 

About the Company 

Virtu Arts was founded in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic. We began as a production company that set out to create a virtual space to tell stories through live performance. As the pandemic continued, and we were forced to settle into a new normal, we pivoted and are now a community arts organization that focuses on creating virtual space to educate, develop, and share Black/African/Caribbean diasporic creators and their stories with the world. 

With our creative streams, we nurture artists through every step of their creative process by offering skill-building workshops facilitated by influential artists, one-person play development programs, and by producing live performances.  

Credits 

Playwright/Director: Vanessa Spence 

Performer: Sarah Nairne 

Voice Actor: Vanessa Spence 

Costume Design/Hair/Make-Up: Janissa Cyrus