By Sheila Williams
Fierce is about . . . growing up, facing fears, taking responsibility, being compassionate, enjoying time spent with loved ones, standing up for oneself, and gathering courage to tackle the difficult moments. Fierce is about life. The story is told through the eyes of four teenage girls living in contemporary society. For source material, the creative team coordinated a series of conversations with ten young women who were—and some of whom still are—participants with community-based organizations Music Resource Center (“MRC”) and WordPlay Cincinnati. They are known as the “Muses”: talented musicians, composers, journalists, and poets. Later in the process, a trio of young women from i.imagine, a Northern Kentucky-based organization, merged their talents for photography with this core group, documenting inspiration-gathering sessions on film.
The conversations with the “Muses,” held over a period of a year, were richly layered, consisting of exchanges running the gamut from parental expectations and college admissions anxiety to spirited debates on lipstick color choices! They included passionate exchanges about ethnic identity and discussions on dating behavior. And the conversations concluded with a renaissance of ideas about what it means to be a woman in this world—as it is now. The deep dives of conversation I had with the “Muses” were held in a conclave of all-female participants.
From these conversations emerged a story supported by four leads—Rumer, Morgan, Nyomi, Vesta—and a focus on issues that were of keen interest and relevance not only to the young women but also to the female members of the creative team, including stage director D. Lynn Meyers and me. The geography of the life of a young woman encompasses many layers, and the excavation is not always easy or straightforward. There was as much laughter about the pizza served as there were silences once confidences had been revealed. The encroachment of technology into the lives of 21st-century people has meant not only increased access to news, information, and entertainment, but also the erosion of privacy and exposure to a higher level of cruelty and abuse. The chorus—known as “Trolls”—arose from these discussions.
The names of the lead characters are also linked to the strengths of women throughout the centuries. We think of “Vesta” as a domestic Roman goddess of the hearth. But some archaeologists have posited that this incarnation is built on an earlier deity, a goddess of fire. “Nyomi” is a derivative of names from several cultures including Japanese, as well as “Naomi” from the Old Testament who may appear to be a follower but, in fact, may represent strength and resolve. “Morgan” is a derivative of the powerful Celtic goddess known by many names including the “Morrigan.” She is a shape-shifter and, from the stories told in Irish lore, she is not to be trifled with! “Rumer” is a name with mysterious and conflicting origins (English, German, Welsh) and vague meaning. Rumer, the character, is mysterious and full of conflicting desires. But she can focus on what’s important—when she wants to!
These women are warriors, and it is their spirit that embodies the best definitions of the word “fierce”: determined, tenacious, strong. They will remake the world.
Sheila J. Williams is a novelist who lives in Northern Kentucky, and her most recent novel, Things Past Telling, was released in March. Fierce is her first opera libretto.