By Lynn Venhaus

The adage: “Write what you know” is never far from Mariah Richardson’s creative process.

The local playwright and educator decided for her latest work, she would address caregivers. She has known this world – for 10 years, she took care of her mother, who died in 2012, and then her brother was special needs, and she helped care for him “my whole life,” until his death in 2021.

However, for her play, “The Caregiving Project: Who’s Taking Care of Momma?” she expanded upon her experience by interviewing real St. Louis caregivers – both unpaid family members and paid professionals.

“It’s their stories that I am highlighting because they really connect us all,” she said.

Richardson, who also directs and acts, has written 12 plays, two children’s books, and written, directed and produced four short films. Her children’s animated series, “Drawn In,” ran for a season and was locally produced at Nine PBS in St. Louis. She was the staff writer and lead voice.

The local theater company Bread and Roses Missouri is presenting her latest original play.

“This production is a powerful exploration of the challenges of caregiving, a vital issue impacting countless individuals and families,” said executive director Emily Kohring. “It highlights the lack of support in our society for this essential work.”

Three performances are set for Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3, at the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival Rehearsal Hall, 3333 Washington Ave. St. Louis, MO 63103. Showtimes are at 7 p.m. on Friday and at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The company is offering free admission, although reservations are strongly encouraged. To reserve tickets, visit: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/85280

“It’s more than just a performance; it’s a call to action to recognize and support the caregivers in our community. With the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts & Education Council’s Arts and Healing Initiative, and the Regional Arts Commission, tickets are free,” Kohring said.

The play tells the story of Lacy, a woman trying to balance the demands of her children, her full-time job, and a mother in the early stages of dementia.

“Lacy is trying to juggle it all. Some days she manages, and other days it all feels like too much. Her kids need her care, her mom needs her care – but who’s taking care of Lacy? When Lacy finds a support group for caregivers, she discovers a community of people with their own unique stories of the challenges and the joys of caring for other people,” Richardson said.

“Through Lacy’s journey and her connection with a support group for caregivers, we explore the challenges and joys of caring for others and pose the crucial question: ‘Who’s taking care of the caregivers?’” Kohring said.

Kohring described the play as “heartfelt and powerful, a deeply moving and insightful look into the lives of caregivers.”

“While nearly every person at some point in their lives will either need to provide care to somebody, or will be the person who needs care, the work of caregiving is often rendered invisible. Workplace and government policy rarely provides caregivers with the support or resources they need. Paid caregivers are most often working for low wages in less-than-ideal conditions,” she said.

“We created this project to amplify the voices and concerns of caregivers through the most powerful medium we know–storytelling,” Kohring added.

“The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that the U.S. economy loses up to $840 billion annually in economic output due to the suppression of women in the labor force caused by the lack of caregiving support,” she noted.

“This is a particularly exciting project for us as we received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to make this production possible. Caregiving, though incredibly rewarding, is often undervalued and unsupported.

“We hope that this production brings to light the immense personal and economic challenges faced by caregivers and we hope to foster crucial conversations about the support systems they need,” she said.

Because the company believes in the urgency of this work, the play is also being made available this fall to organizations and groups.

“We will come to groups, and the play can be performed in a multi-purpose room, auditorium, church basement or any space where a group of people can gather,” Kohring said.

To contact Kohring to discuss scheduling a performance, she can be reached by emailing: director@breadandrosesmo.org

The play is directed by longtime local theater educator and artist Deanna Jent, who is familiar with this terrain.

Her original play, “Falling,” was produced off-Broadway in 2012, and was presented by Mustard Seed Theatre, which she had founded at Fontbonne University in 2007 and was the artistic director for over 12 years. In St. Louis, it won a Kevin Kline Award in 2012 as Best New Play.

The family drama was based on her experience as a parent of an autistic child, and the struggles the family goes through.

Jent, who taught theater at Fontbonne for 29 years, now works as a chaplain at St. Louis University Hospital.

Jent is the author of three adaptations of novels into plays: “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, and “Imaginary Jesus” by Matt Mikalatos. She adapted “Winds of Change” for Shakespeare in the Streets in 2022, and wrote “Bosnian/American: Dance for Life.”

She has directed for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis Touring Company, New Jewish Theatre and the Orange Girls. She won a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for directing the musical “All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.”

She received a BFA from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in theatre from Northwestern University. She and her late husband Steve are the parents of three children.

The play stars three local actresses: Ricki Franklin, Leslie Wobbe, and Michelle Dillard.

Playwright Richardson, who wrote the 2021 Shakespeare in the Streets production “The Ville: Avengence!” is currently a full-time assistant professor at St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley.

For Metro Theater Company, her original play “Delilah’s Wish” was a touring production in 2011. It was about an 8-year-old girl in old North St. Louis who spends a challenging year depending on people in her neighborhood while her mother is serving in the military in Iraq. Geared towards grades 2 to 12, it dealt with diversity, tolerance and acceptance.

She developed a children’s book series based on that play and has been working on turning it into an animated cartoon series.

“I have eight episodes of a short-form kids show on YouTube, “Delilah Shares Our World.” I want to find partnerships to grow it and eventually show episodes all over the world. It’s a bit of geography and a bit of history and showcases a kid talking about what they love about where they live.”

Metro Theater Company also produced her original play, “Brave, Bold, Curious!” in 2022.

Richardson received a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of New Mexico and an MFA from Smith College in playwriting.

In St. Louis, she previously taught mass communications from 2005 to 2013, moved to Los Angeles, and then returned to teach in 2015.

The theater company, Bread and Roses Missouri, amplifies and elevates the stories of working people through art, performance, and activism. They believe that cultural and creative expression are a means to effect deep and lasting social change, Kohring said.

The company organizes and produces arts and humanities events, exhibits and workshops for and about workers and their families.

“We strive to empower participants and educate audiences. Through the arts we envision a world that achieves an economic base benefitting the entire community,” Kohring said.

Take Ten Questions with Mariah Richardson

1.What is special about your latest project?

“Having been a caregiver for many years (my mind in her last ten years of life and my special needs brother throughout my life), Emily thought I was a good fit for the project.”

2. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?

“After more than 40 years in this business, the reason is varied depending on the where I am in the timeline. In the beginning, as an actor, I wanted to ‘be somebody.’ I was as a poet, always, and I felt like I had something to say. As a playwright, I want to share messages and inspire. I have always enjoyed being in the arts and felt it was the safest way for me to express the many facets of myself.”

3. How would your friends describe you?

 “Funny, kind, hardworking, intelligent, and I will say what others are afraid to say, authentic.”

4. How do you like to spend your spare time?

“I love TV: well written sitcoms and dramas, documentaries, and true crime.”

5. What is your current obsession?

“Getting Kamala elected.”

6. What would people be surprised to find out about you?

“That I love to fly kites.”

7. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?

“When I was 33 and I understood when it was said that Jesus suffered for the world. ( I have always been on a spiritual path and first, I used the teachings of Christianity for guidance.) I was living in Oakland, California, and I was approached by a woman who asked me for 35 cents. I couldn’t imagine why when 35 cents is nothing. And I understood that people expect so little when they could have so much if they could see themselves as worthy. I have battled with feelings of unworthiness, and that encounter opened my eyes and set me on the path to seeing myself as deserving of good things and knowing that what I believed I was worthy of would become manifest whether good or bad.”

8. Who do you admire most?

“I admire anyone who knows how to truly forgive.”

9. What is at the top of your bucket list?

“A trip down the Nile, Northern Lights in Alaska, be financially free. “

10. How were you affected by the pandemic years, and anything you would like to share about what got you through and any lesson learned during the isolation periods? Any reflections on how the arts were affected? And what it means to move forward?

“The pandemic was good for me, overall. My day job went online, and I was able to walk in Forest Park daily. It was tough for those producing live theatre, but as a writer I could work from home. I know the importance of self-reflection and being quiet. I naturally have work and downtime in equal measure when I can. This is what got me through the pandemic, and I miss how quiet the world got.”

11. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?

“I am a tourist in my hometown of St. Louis, and I love finding out about it, mostly through food and cultural events around town.”

Cover photo by Lynn Venhaus at St Louis Community College – Forest Park.