When Philadelphia-based poet and spoken word artist Denice Frohman takes the stage at MACLA this week, she’s technically performing a one-woman show. But there will be many voices woven throughout the production, directed by Alex Torra and playing Friday through Sunday at the downtown arts center.
In Esto No Tiene Nombre (This Has No Name), Frohman uses audio interviews, archives, photographs and reenactments to present the life and work of Latina lesbian elders. The name comes from a Latina lesbian magazine from the 1990s. The phrase resonated for her, not only through its “literary lineage that I felt connected to,” but also because “we exist beyond language,” Frohman explains. “That sometimes something can be so beautiful and painful you cannot even name it. So it got me thinking about queer identities as living beyond binaries and being places of creativity, freedom and liberation.”
Frohman’s work, performed in English, is part of an ambitious project that author and MacArthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson launched in 2022. Produced by Columbia University, I See My Light Shining: The Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project draws together ten writers who were tasked with recording oral histories from more than 230 BIPOC elder artists, activists, business owners and community leaders from ten different regions who’ve “witnessed and shaped great change in American life.”
Originally from N.Y., Frohman has been an artist for 20 years. Her work explores race, immigration, feminism and queer identity. She’s been published in anthologies, magazines and The New York Times. She’s performed at the White House and the Apollo, as well as at more than 500 colleges and universities.
Frohman began writing Esto No Tiene Nombre in 2022 after she was selected as a Baldwin-Emerson Elders Fellow. She was simultaneously looking for ideas and material to develop for her first one-woman show at a black-box theater in Philadelphia.
“At the time, I had been thinking about what essentially became this play,” says Frohman. “I felt a yearning to connect with Latina lesbian elders because I didn’t have relationships with those elders before this project began. So it was a really personal journey for me.”
Frohman interviewed more than 20 Latina lesbians over the age of 50, who discuss such topics as family, coming out, first loves, first kisses and community involvement. She chose eight of the women for the play, including Puerto Rican-American filmmaker Frances Negrón-Muntaner; Cuban-American LGBT rights activist Ada Bello; Arizona chef Silvana Esparza; and Philadelphia gay bar owner Iris Melendez.
“Each of these women has wildly fascinating and powerful journeys,” says Frohman. “I wanted to get a sense of their roots. I wanted them to recollect the turning points in their lives. What does it feel like to fall in love? What does it feel like to grow older with someone else? When were they able to step into their own identity? There’s a lot of love stories in the play. I was also really curious about their relationships with their mothers because so much of the play is about me and my relationship with my mom.”
Another major theme in Frohman’s play is “queer gathering spaces” for past generations. “What were those safe havens for them? Were there bars, clubs, retreats or living rooms? How did they build a community together?” Frohman muses. “And also them thinking about how they see themselves, how they see their own legacies and what they will say to the next generation. I think it was an opportunity for some of the participants to actually come out on record for the first time.”
Though Frohman’s subjects are primarily from the Northeast, in addition to Texas, Florida and California, she says their experiences apply to anyone living anywhere.
“The beautiful thing about art, or that at least about the show, is that it really connects to a myriad of audiences. It’s geographically diverse. Their stories translate to other communities. I think anytime you perform it, different parts resonate differently with different audiences.”
And though Esto No Tiene Nombre looks back at earlier times, Frohman asserts, “This is not a play about ancestors. These incredible women are still here with us. They are living, walking and breathing libraries. The larger invitation that I hope people take away is to make space and interview their elders before it’s too late.”
Esto No Tiene Nombre will be performed Fri-Sat, Mar 21-22 at 7:30pm and Sun, Mar 23 at 1:30pm at MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, 510 S 1st St, San Jose. Tickets: $10-$45. maclaarte.org
