Mama Juggs is an award-winning women's health show that addresses issues of cancer and body image through inspiring dramatic performance. For the past 3 years, Mama Juggs has reached beyond the theater to create conversations about these issues, especially breast cancer, a winnable public health issue. These difficult subjects are humanized and faced head on in a 60-minute interactive solo performance that tells the real stories of three African-American women in the Oakland projects.
Mama Juggs is an “original opportunity for a privileged peek into a world that many don’t normally experience.” Through the bold humor of a breast cancer survivor and the quick wit of a 100-year-old great-grandmother, Mama Juggs invites the audience to experience one family's breast health issues - from bra stuffing to breastfeeding to breast cancer - without veering towards pity.
Anita Shontel Woodley's play also deals with the public health issue of breast cancer disparities that exist between races and classes, as well as body image taboos surrounding breasts. While Mama Juggs delves into women's issues, it has been praised for its ability to "be more about life and all its wonderful and difficult moments, making this a story that will appeal to just about anyone."
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This emotionally gritty performance features comedy, a cappella gospel, improvisations and audience interactions, while offering slices of both urban and southern Black culture. Mama Juggs celebrates the virtues of selflessness and inner strength in women living with breast cancer. For audience members, both male and female, it opens the space to better understand real women’s issues around the topic of breast health.
Anita Shontel Woodley is an Emmy Award-winning national producer and on-air storyteller for the public radio program, The Story with Dick Gordon. She has been invited to perform for audiences ranging from university students in the U.S. and West Africa to nuns at Sacred Heart Monastery. Anita is also a recipient of the 2012 Durham, N.C. Emerging Artist Grant and the winner of multiple national honors.
