The Streetfeet Women are a culturally diverse company of writers and performers that was founded in Boston in 1982 by Mary McCullough and Elena Harap. Over the years, Mary and Elena have been joined by many women writers, creating a troupe of writer/performers that varies from four to ten members. Each author speaks in a powerful and distinct voice of her own lived experience as a woman in America. Together they create Streetfeet works that celebrate the dignity and creativity of ordinary women in their daily lives as they face events that are both shared and different from one to another. Streetfeet Women perform in places where women live and work--libraries, community centers, colleges, churches, and conferences. Often taking from engagement with the audience as much as they put in.

Streetfeet Women History

Elena and Mary met in The People’s Theater in the 60s in Cambridge, MA. But it wasn’t until 1980 that they began their partnership in what became The Streetfeet Women when A Parker Hill librarian invited Elena “to do something for Women’s History Week.” The production – “Portraits of Sisters,” based on Elena’s sequence of poems about Boston women – ignited Mary’s and Elena's joint engagement with women's issues using writing and performance to convert awareness to action. By 1985, they had drawn together a troupe called The Streetfeet Women who traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, for the NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) Forum of the United Nations Decade for Women Conference, an experience that has defined Streetfeet's mission ever since. In 1995 they attended the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Huairou, China. At both conferences, they performed original Streetfeet theatre pieces.

What Streetfeet saw and learned at the international level fueled their writing and the touring of their theatre productions in locations across the Unites States. In every endeavor, they continued to explore and express the nature of identity for women in America from all races, all walks of life, and all experiences.

Streetfeet Publishes and Performs

The group published journal accounts of their travels. MANY VOICES (1988) reflects on the journey to Kenya and THE ROAD TO BEIJING (1996) on the even bigger conference in China.

In 1998 they compiled an anthology, LAUGHING IN THE KITCHEN, exploring the theme of women and the American identity. The book, which contains poetry, short stories, essays, and graphic art, received Honorable Mention from the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Awards.

Among the theatre productions was "American Praise Song," a staged presentation of their writing that reported on Streetfeet's search for the heart and soul of America. "Where Do You Put the Scale?" was a cabaret piece about attitudes toward women's bodies, especially women's attitudes. And "American Kaleidoscope" was a collage of theatre pieces, music, and movement that explored racism and the diversity of American experience.

In 1999, Streetfeet's work was recognized by the Boston Women's Fund with their "Take a Stand" award, which honors and "supports community-based organizations run by women and girls in the Greater Boston Area [that] are working to create a society based on racial, social, and economic justice."

In 2009 the group published its second anthology, THE BONES WE CARRY, as Streetfeet entered the 21st century and all the changes it has brought.

Moving Forward

Many changes have occurred in American culture since 1982, and Streetfeet Women have reported on and helped create those changes. Many things have not improved enough and the cycles of change have been daunting. Some have gotten even more daunting in the 21st C. The voices of the Streetfeet Women and of those whose experiences they bring to light have never been more important than they are now. Stay tuned to find out what Streetfeet Women -- new members and old -- have to say about it.