A Conversation With Monet Hurst Mendoza
What year(s) were you at the New Harmony Project?
Class of 2024, baby!
Can you talk about a favorite memory or two? If you were asked to describe NHP to someone, how would you do it?
Walking through the empty streets of New Harmony after 10pm with Tara Moses and Maddie Easley. Multiple coffee runs at Black Lodge (thank you, Alex!). Riding around in golf carts. Befriending neighborhood cats. Walking the labyrinth late at night. Writing in the silent church. Helping Amalia Oliva Rojas rescue her forgotten glasses from the local post office. The Saturday morning farmers’ market. The town library. Joining a random jam session outside the neighborhood music store. Taking over the back room at the local bar to play Lotería. NHP is a magical oasis where anything is possible and you make artistic friends for life. I also am mystified by/obsessed with the fact that the town’s historical sign says that it is a twice failed utopia and yet I think it is utopia for writers!
Where do you find inspiration for your writing? What other writers (in any genre) do you find inspiring?
My inspiration comes from lots of places—in nature, our history, current events, seeing other people’s art. Some of my favorite playwrights/theatre styles that I constantly return to for inspiration are Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, María Irene Fornés, Migdalia Cruz, Naomi Izuka, Eugene Ionesco, Tennessee Williams, Sarah Kane, Butoh, and German Expressionism. I’m generally curious about the concept of soulmates and am looking for the manifestation of God/the divine wherever I can find it.
What's your creative process/ritual?
I get real brujita with it. I start with burning palo santo, sage, or lighting my favorite candle. Then, I invoke the spirits of my ancestors, asking for inspiration and to watch over me as I create (writing can be so vulnerable—you need protection). I also pull a daily tarot card (or a few) to guide me through the process. Don’t forget to drink water, stretch, and have plenty of snacks handy. I have two beautiful cats that I take breaks with. Sometimes they will sit at my feet or on my lap, and that keeps me feeling grounded and calm, especially when under deadlines.
What advice would you give to aspiring creatives?
See a lot of art—plays, dance, opera, poetry readings, concerts, film retrospectives, weird performance art that takes at least 3 train transfers to get to! Invest in museum memberships (many have deals for artists). Read a lot of plays/books.
Do you have a dream project that you're dying to work on?
I am currently working on an ambitious play cycle about my family’s hometown of Yucatàn, Mexico. Each play will focus on a different town or city and the working-class women who inhabit it. The plays will examine all the things I usually write about — gender, sexuality, politics, faith, and human connection. While many American plays about Latinidad focus on the immigrant experience, my cycle centers the richness of Mexican life in Mexico. So far there are four in the series, but I have ideas for at least eight, maybe more.
Can you tell us a little bit about Lilia?
Lilia is actually part of this play cycle! I started writing it in college and through a recent development opportunity with Parity Productions, I was able to revisit it with more lived experience. The play is set in the 1960’s at the dawn of Vatican II in the rural town of Sotuta where 14-year-old religiously devout Lilia is forced to turn to prostitution for survival. When a young, newly-ordained priest arrives in town, the two are inextricably drawn to one another and everyone's faith is tested. I describe it as my “Mexican Lolita play from Lolita’s POV.” Soulmates and God, amirite?