Co-written with Irma Mayorga

The Panza Monologues is an original solo performance piece based on women's stories about their panzas. Tú sabes - that roll of belly we all try to hide. A one-woman tour de force as told through the words of women speaking with heart stopping frankness, these stories create a quilt of poignancy, humor, and revelation. The Panza Monologues boldly places the panza front and center as a symbol that reveals the lurking truths about women's thoughts, lives, loves, abuses, and lived conditions. Additional stories also contributed by Petra A. Mata, Bárbara Renaud-González and María R. Salazar.  Directed by Irma Mayorga. Purchase the play from UT Press or buy the DVD filmed live at Plaza de la Raza.

The Panza Monologues has been taught on college campuses across the nation including: UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton, Colgate University, SUNY Oneonta, Fordham University, Wellesley College, UT-Pan Am, Cal State LA, the California Institute of the Arts, Mount Holyoke College, Northwestern University, and Fresno State University.

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Production History

Cal State Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA, 2009
Plaza de la Raza, Los Angeles, CA, 2008
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2006
Las Hermanas National Conference, San Antonio, TX, 2005
Cara Mia Theatre, Latino Cultural Center, Dallas, TX, 2005
Cara Mia Theatre, Rose Marine Theatre, Fort Worth, TX, 2005
World Premiere. Allgo, Tillery Street Theatre, Austin, TX, 2004

Readings

Theater In My Basement/SW Annex's Teatro Caliente! Festival, Phoenix, AZ, 2004
Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, TX, 2004
Center For Gender Studies, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, 2004
Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambios Sociales Conference. San Antonio, TX, 2003

Reviews

“It's activista theater that strikes a chord with everyone.” -Mark Lowry, Fort Worth Star Telegram

"...The Panza Monologues functions not only to affirm the history of Latina voices, but to also cement the history of theatre-making process within the Latina community, challenging and expanding the terrain of American drama, thereby earning the proclomation, "Power to the Panza!" -Patricia Herrera, MALCS Journal

“In the most simple translation, panza refers to the belly, but more metaphorically references the heart, the center of the body, and the center of life. The production makes visible the way political, economic, sexual, and cultural oppression play out on the female body…The Panza Monologues needs to be performed and witnessed now.” -Karen Jean Martinson, Theatre Journal                         

More on The Panza Monologues:

Ms. Magazine Blog
Embrace your Panza
CalArts Alum Creates The Panza Monologues