The Neo-Political Cowgirls Open “The Weird Sisters” at Longhouse

The company members of the Neo-Political Cowgirls are no strangers to Shakespeare.

Created by Kate Mueth in 2007, the Neo-Political Cowgirls is a nonprofit dance-theater organization dedicated to “exploring, celebrating and amplifying the human voice,” placing a particular emphasis on the inclusion of women and BIPOC individuals in the NPC’s work, according to their website.

In a recent interview, Mueth explained that two years ago, the company was awarded a substantial grant from the National Endowment for the Arts — the “Shakespeare in American Communities Grant” — designed to bring Shakespeare in any form of performance to schools across the country. An opportunity, Mueth said, for her to devise a Shakespearean story through a feminist lens.

That show was “The Dreamer,” a retelling of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which premiered at Mulford Farm in East Hampton, followed by a stint off-Broadway, and eventually made its way to LongHouse Reserve, where the Neo-Political Cowgirls have become the artist-in-residence. The following year, having received the grant again, the NPC delivered “The She-Wolves,” a “compilation of different women from Shakespeare put into a new kind of fairy tale,” Mueth said.

Under the current political administration, the Neo-Political Cowgirls were not able to receive the grant again this year. However, that has not stopped the group from continuing their work. From Wednesday, August 13, to Sunday, August 17 the NPC will present “The Weird Sisters” at LongHouse Reserve. The show investigates the three witches from “Macbeth,” which will also serve as a precursor to a full production of “Macbeth” to be presented by Mueth and her husband, Josh Gladstone, at LongHouse next summer.

“For me, if we’re going to be doing Shakespeare, or any kind of classic, we better have a good reason for doing it,” Mueth said. “Not in order to make it a cliché, but to do the job of the arts: to hold up a mirror to the world, and to our humanity, or lack thereof.”

“‘Macbeth’ is very much about the violence across our planet done in the name of greed, and the incredible, full-chested ambition of extraction — how anything can be annihilated in the name of a person’s desire to own and control,” she continued. “That’s why this story feels like such an immediate necessity to confront.”

“The Weird Sisters,” however, will remove the emphasis from a murderous Macbeth, and place it instead on the witchy women in the foreground. In examining the witches, the show hopes to question and challenge a potential lack of understanding about these characters, who are so often presented through an evil lens.

“I’m not portraying these women as some angels,” Mueth said. “I’m just portraying them as deeply intuitive women, connected to the earth and to their own power.”

Mueth explained the importance of understanding these women in context: That is, the way women who were suspected of being witches have been treated throughout time.

“If you look at the history of witches, you can see this incredible, terrible depravity toward women who were called witches,” Mueth said. “These people got pushed out of societies, burned and killed for being witches, because ultimately, their power was a threat to patriarchy.”

Mueth continued that the general consensus in “Macbeth” is that the witches’ intuitions lead to Macbeth making all his horrific decisions in the name of power. That idea, she said, is convoluted.

“The fear of women, the refusal to allow them power and voice and autonomy in the world leads us, again and again, to violence,” Mueth said. “The people who pay the greatest price are children.”

Involving children in the art, she said, is integral. Mueth’s message is about honoring a child’s freedom.

“It’s very much about innocence,” she said. “In this piece, I refer to the child as ‘the wise child.’ The witches who come out of the woods are there to raise her up, support her, protect her … she is not yet an adult with a broken perception of herself. She is an unfiltered message machine speaking from a place of resolute knowing, and they honor her for that.”

That said, Mueth recommends that the show is suitable for “adventurous audiences ages 12 and up.”

Though it is a Macbeth-esque piece, Mueth follows the theatrical tradition of not saying Macbeth’s name — not for fear of bad luck, but to uplift the feminine story.

“We don’t ever say Macbeth’s name in this piece,” Mueth said. “It’s much more about the greater outside world of broken patriarchy. When greed turns into violence, it’s children that lose the most. The show is harkening to our ability to witness innocence and potential.”

Two company performers, Vanessa Walters and Mary Garrett Turner, spoke with excitement about being part of “The Weird Sisters.” Turner and Walters, both of whom have been involved in previous NPC productions — “The Dreamer” and “The She-Wolves” — are playing two of the witches. The rest of the cast includes Ava Jones, Colleen Edwards, Rosy Gentle, Jade Diskin, Bethany Chang and Zahara Siebert, with live percussion by Sarah Reynolds.

Turner, who originally discovered the Neo-Political Cowgirls through an ad in Backstage, emphasized her appreciation for working with a female-only cast, and for Mueth’s collaborative efforts when devising a show.

“The collaborative method is deeply fulfilling as an actress,” Turner said. “It strengthens the psychological connection to the material, as we help shape the show’s themes and define our characters within that context.”

For Turner, the most exciting aspect of being a part of “The Weird Sisters” is being able to move out of the rehearsal room and perform at LongHouse — a space deeply rooted in its surrounding nature.

“Dancing and playing among the dirt and trees will enhance the show’s strong connection to nature and deepen the experience for the audience,” she said.

Walters met Mueth while working on a piece with writer/director Isaac Klein. She said that she and Mueth hit it off right away. Walters played the leading role of “Puck” in “The Dreamer,” but is equally excited to explore a role as a witch, due to a personal fascination with their history.

“I have a strong relationship with, and strong feelings about, the word ‘witch,’” she explained, adding that she is particularly interested in the fact that witches worshiped by “dancing in a circle and communing with nature.”

“I love how Kate and this ensemble are investigating, diving in, intuiting and raising questions about the stereotype of the witch in this work,” she continued.

Walters expressed a similar appreciation for the ensemble of “The Weird Sisters,” and Mueth’s collaborative spirit.

“Kate is co-creating with the cast and we have a united vision,” she said. “It feels like a special time to play and make something new.”

“It is inspired by the witches from Macbeth, but it is very much an original NPC show in its nascent stages,” Walters continued. “It will really come to life at LongHouse.”

The Neo-Political Cowgirls’ production of “The Weird Sisters” will run from Wednesday, August 13, to Sunday, August 17, at 7:30 at LongHouse Reserve, 133 Hands Creek Road, East Hampton. Tickets begin at $35 ($22 for students). This Sunday, August 10, from 3 to 5 p.m., Longhouse visitors are invited to drop in to an open rehearsal and observe the NPC company in action. Anyone visiting LongHouse Reserve during those hours is welcome to attend. LongHouse Reserve is at 133 Hands Creek Road in East Hampton. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit npcowgirls.org.