INTERVIEW: ‘B*tchcraft’ continues through March 1 at wild project
Photo: Bitch performs in B*tchcraft: A Musical Play at wild project. Photo courtesy of Dana Lynn Pleasant / Provided by Emily Owens PR with permission.
B*tchcraft, the new musical play from Queer music icon Bitch, finishes up its limited run at New York City’s wild project Saturday, March 1. The autobiographical work, which has been in development for a few years, tells the story of the singer’s upbringing in suburban Detroit and how she eventually broke into the music scene. Along the way, she shares tales of her British ex-pat parents, her feminist awakening and her indie rock stardom, according to press notes.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Bitch to learn more about her motivations for the piece, her process of developing the play and what her feelings are on a range of topics, everything from Detroit to playing the violin to feminism. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When were you inspired to create a stage play centered on your life and upbringing?
I had been wanting to figure out a way to craft my story for quite a few years. I’ve had an unconventional life and wanted to share it, but that can also be overwhelming! When I met director Margie Zohn, her specialty is helping artists draw out their own stories. That is when the magic began!
Is today’s show very different from the early iterations a few years ago?
It has deepened. It’s still the same story, with the same messages, but we have gone deeper into my vulnerabilities.
Is the creative process for a theater piece similar to your music recording, or does the creative process feel very different?
My first instinct is that it’s so different. Although, when I made Bitchcraft the album, I was also thinking about the visual story I wanted to tell, knowing I would be making music videos. But making a theater piece, especially an autobiographical one, is lining up a truth that doesn’t have to play into an album. An album can be more fantasy, while an autobiographical show is excavating the past in a way I had never done before.
What was life like growing up in suburban Detroit?
It was racially very segregated. Detroit has such a rich history, and it was like we were living around the ghosts of that all the time. We as a family went into the city a lot, but a lot of my classmates never crossed the border. The racism and classism that drove the “white flight” was very real. I got to experience the hypocrisy of it all pretty young, since thankfully my parents took me into Detroit a lot. I was always very aware of the rich musical legacy around me.
The play’s promotional material talks of a “feminist awakening” that occurred in your life. Was this gradual, or was there a specific moment?
I had the classic experience of going to a women’s studies class in college and having my mind blown. The awakening started there. That led me to meeting Animal (my first band mate), discovering queerness and other paradigms of how to live, and honestly the awakening has never stopped.
How would you define ‘B*tchcraft’?
B*tchcraft is a powerful brew of your vulnerability, scars and pain, mixed with three drops of patriarchal rage, a sense of your own power and self-actualization, a dash of humor and a giant witch cackle.
When did you pick up your first violin?
When I was 4, after hearing it on Sesame Street!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
B*tchcraft: A Musical Play, featuring Bitch, continues through Saturday, March 1, at wild project in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
