The Dirndl Diaspora (animated feature)

This play was inspired at my local Oktoberfest in 2018, in the Dimond District of Oakland California, when I noticed there were more local beers, hip-hop dancers and African clothing booths than German cultural markers in the historically German neighborhood. As a 2nd generation German Immigrant, I wondered what I could do to help bridge cultures in a creative way. Admiring the beautiful fabrics, I was suddenly struck with the longing to buy a kente cloth dirndl! The concept for The Dirndl Diaspora downloaded straight into my brain over the following weeks and months.

The following year, I did a table read of the first draft at the 2019 Oaktoberfest, and saw there was something to it. A Zoom reading in May 2020 allowed me to develop the idea further, but it was not until the summer’s worldwide awakening to the reality of racial violence that I fully understood what I was trying to accomplish. A few rounds of sensitivity readings with both Black and German cultural experts allowed me to find the edges and use them to create the nuances I was seeking.

The Dirndl Diaspora is an optimistic work, both intimate and exuberant, about the role of women in creating cultural change. My work around women’s sovereignty, parenting psychology, and family power dynamics (the 4th edition of The Winning Family with Dr. Louise Hart comes out in April, 2022) came alive through the protagonist’s deliberations about reproduction.

I succeeded in wrapping a story about unconscious collusion with white supremacy in lovely corsets, and dismantling racism by mixing ethnic textiles, in the warmth of female friendships and the strength of women’s work.

The neighborhood association had given me a grant to do a staged reading at the 2020 Oaktoberfest, but it became clear that we couldn’t do a live performance. I spent the money I’d set aside for the venue on an animator to liven up the loooong conversation, and we came up with something unique and truly weird.
We sourced hundreds of assets from online stores, and wikipedia, and fuddled through the uncharted audio madness of Zoom recordings. The magic was there, and we even premiere an original song.

On opening night in mid-October, dozens of neighbors and friends gathered on Zoom and ate German food delivered from local restaurants, then tuned in to watch the movie on Vimeo.

The next day, I hosted an online dirndl fashion show with entries from all over the world, and gave out the first #dirndldiversity award!

The cast was thrilled to have a consuming creative project to combat the mental strain of Covid. Our collective hope is that this work helps illuminate intertwined ancestries, the bonds of love and fashion, myths and mindset, fascism and feminism, and help envision a more nourishing future for women and their worlds, everywhere.