On Your Feet Foundation (OYFF) is hosting workshops for adoptive parents and birthmothers in conjunction with adoption-themed staged readings created by the Piven Lab Series. The centerpiece of the weekend is “Placing Home” at the Piven Theatre in Evanston, which runs Nov. 15-17 (birthmothers only on Sunday) at the theater, 927 Noyes St. In conjunction with “Placing Home,” OYFF is hosting two learning opportunities featuring theatrical approaches: 1) A parenting workshop for adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents, and 2) a mini-retreat for birthmothers.
“Placing Home” is a performance created by Katy Finn, Kira Silverstein and Heather Bodie, in partnership with Piven Lab Series. The performance features staged readings of interviews with birthmothers, who explore themes of loss, resilience and family. Many of the birth-mothers who were interviewed for the readings have attended On Your Feet Foundation retreats and have received services from the organization.
“On Your Feet Foundation was thrilled to help Katy, Kira, Heather and the Piven Lab connect with birthmoms to create ‘Placing Home,’” said Alexis Eyler, OYFF’s Executive Director. “The resulting performance is powerful and thoughtful. This is why we built a weekend of learning opportunities for adoptive parents and birthmothers around ‘Placing Home.’”
Workshops will be held on Nov. 16 and 17. Information may be found at oyff.org.