The Performance Project Inc

In July 2021, we reentered the world after COVID isolation and formed a new ensemble in Springfield with six new youth between the ages of 15 and 19. This group embodied the concept of "First Generation" in so many ways. They are all the first in their families to attend college. Several have parents who attended only a few years of elementary school—or no school at all. Five are the first in their families to speak English. Two are the first girls in their families to insist on determining their own destinies. Two are the first in their families to reject conventional norms around masculinity. One is the first to come out as trans. All are the first in their families to identify as cultural activists, writers, visual artists, performers, social workers, and teachers. Over a period of 14 months (July 2021–October 2022), the ensemble trained and then created Mother Tongue—a 90-minute performance weaving together theater, movement, music, dance, and stories exploring themes of diaspora, culture, identity, language justice, hypermasculinity, transphobia, racism, education, the school-to-prison pipeline, personal liberation, and revolution. The ensemble continued to develop and tour Mother Tongue, performing at theaters, colleges, high schools, social justice conferences, festivals, courthouses, and a jail. We worked on college applications and visited campuses together. They were all fortunate enough to receive full scholarships to Hampshire College. Although they were accepted to other schools, it was an easy decision to attend Hampshire because their families were not in a position to provide financial support. For them and their families, attending college was conceivable only because they received full scholarships and incurred no student loan debt. Julita, Lali, and Charlette were the first to enter college, followed by Montaser, and, in 2025, Moise and Monisha. They performed Mother Tongue at Hampshire College in 2023 before they were students there, and the final performance of Mother Tongue took place at Hampshire on December 6, 2025, with all six of them attending on full scholarships. When Hampshire announced its closure, the immediate response from several families was, “Now you can come home and get a real job —support our family by working at Amazon, Yankee Candle, Walmart, a factory, or somewhere similar.” In the case of two First Generation members, one has no home to return to, and the other's family is living in a precarious housing situation. What their families truly expect and need from their children after they graduate from high school is for them to stay home, work full time, contribute financially, and help care for their younger siblings until they start families of their own. Culturally, that is how it works. Julita, Moise, Monisha, and Montaser had to strongly advocate for permission to live on campus at Hampshire. Because of the James Baldwin Scholarship, they were able to convince their parents that this was an opportunity they should not pass up. Most of the Ensemble’s families will not give them permission to take out student loans. We are working on that, but we also don’t want them to graduate with huge student debt. For five of our members, returning home and attending community college is not a recipe for success. Four of them are expected to simultaneously work full-time jobs while taking responsibility for 4–12 younger siblings and cousins, in addition to managing their college coursework. Each of our young people has a $10,000 to $12,000 funding gap per year  that needs to be covered in order for them to continue and finish their college education.