The Street Feet Women's road leads to Oberlin

The group of women have produced their work around the world

Eleanor Roosevelt, the art of Chinese storytelling and Nairobi may seem like unrelated topics at first glance. Maybe even with a second look as well. But The Street Feet Women, a women's community theater group from Boston, brings them all together from their eclectic interests to a united goal. The group, which originally gathered for a women's conference in Nairobi in the mid-'80s, reads poetry and short stories and performs some scene work, all to try to educate the community around it. The members write, direct and execute all of their own work, and are traveling to Oberlin this weekend to share their skill.

This group's visit is particularly momentous because it marks the first time the Oberlin Student Theater Association (OSTA) has sponsored an outside group. Senior Eryn Johnson, a publicity coordinator for OSTA, was first introduced to the group through her hometown's school system. She liked the group's work and has been working on organizing its trip since this September.

The Street Feet Women work within the Boston area and try to bring theater with a message to various communities, often running workshops in the streets with the local children. They have done a variety of different shows, from The Wizard of Oz in Spanish to short pieces based on their own experiences. Prefacing their work by explaining that it is the story of ordinary women, this group is far from just ordinary. They may lead normal lives when they are not working in the group, but their involvement and positive influence on the community far surpasses that of the everyday.

The Street Feet Women promises a weekend full of activity. The entire group will be performing All in a Women's Family, a combination of skits written by the group Saturday at 8 p.m. in Wilder. Li Min Mo will be reading a combination of her poetry, stories and memoirs in a Chinese storytelling workshop Sunday at 2 p.m. in Shipherd Lounge. Following Mo's reading, Elena Dodd will be performing Meet Eleanor Roosevelt, a piece based on Roosevelt's later career. Finally, on Monday at 4:30 p.m. the group will give a lecture about its experience at the Women's Conference in Beijing. Tickets for all performances are on sale at Wilder Desk; the Beijing Conference talk is free.