Wilma Theatercast

Modúpẹ́’s Story – Power, Pain, and Resistance with Brittany Onukwugha

• Season 1 • Episode 2

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How do myths, power, and resistance shape our understanding of the world? In this episode of Wilma Theatercast, hosts Dwight Dunston and Toby Fraser explore the foundational elements of The Half-God of Rainfall, diving deep into mythology, gender, and the power structures that shape our lives.

They are joined by Brittany Onukwugha, associate producer and dramaturg for Wilma Theater, who breaks down the historical and cultural research behind the play. From Yoruba mythology to the Greek pantheon, Brittany unpacks the role of storytelling in shaping justice, identity, and survival. She also reflects on how this play has personally transformed her understanding of heritage, community, and resistance.

This conversation is rich with insights on the play’s themes, the artistry behind its production, and the sacrifices of its central character, Modúpẹ́—a mother whose strength, love, and resilience drive the heart of the story.

Guest: Brittany Onukwugha

Brittany Onukwugha is an actor, dramaturg, and arts administrator passionate about storytelling and creative research. She is the associate producer at Wilma Theater and a Barrymore Award-nominated performer. Brittany, a Rutgers University–Camden graduate, has worked with theaters across Philadelphia, including Arden Theatre Company, Delaware Shakespeare, Theatre Horizon, and EgoPo Classic Theatre.

Her dramaturgical work for The Half-God of Rainfall involved extensive research into Yoruba mythology, Greek tragedy, and the cultural legacy of orality in storytelling. She also brings experience as an associate choreographer, dance captain, and fight captain, making her a multi-talented theater artist dedicated to dynamic and intentional storytelling.

📖 Learn More About the Play & Its Themes:

🎤 Music in this Episode:

  • Original compositions from The Half-God of Rainfall by Jordan McCree & Elle Morris of Ill Doots
  • The Half-God Mixtape by Dwight Dunston & Martronimous
  • Additional music from Epidemic Sound

🎟️ The Half-God of Rainfall is playing at The Wilma Theater live in Philadelphia February 11th – March 2nd, 2025, and streaming for a limited time in March. Visit WilmaTheater.org for tickets and more information.




📱 Follow us on social media:
@wilmatheater

🎭 The Tony Award-winning Wilma Theater joyfully produces the Wilma Theatercast as part of our Accessible Productions Initiative. This program brings community partners into the rehearsal process and invites them to respond creatively to the work. This program is made possible with support from the William Penn Foundation.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Welcome to Wilma theatercast, a place for conversation about the Tony award winning work of Philadelphia's Wilma Theater. I'm Dwight Dunstick.

>> Toby Fraser:

And I'm Toby Fraser. Together we're going to guide you through the epic tale of the Half God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams. Running at the Wilma Theater, this play is a stunning fusion of Yoruba and Greek mythologies with a dash of NBA magic. It's packed with heart, power and some serious questions about masculinity, culture, and what it means to belong.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

In this episode, you will hear our conversation with Brittany Anukua, uh, the associate producer of Wilma Theater.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Hara actually frequently punished women for her husband's seductions. Anytime her husband had a desire to have sex or assault these women. There was a lot of times where Hera kind of carried out her own plot against these people.

>> Toby Fraser:

She's also the dramaturg for the Half God of Rainfall. And if you don't know what that is, you're not alone. And we're going to break it down for you in a moment.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

We're going to explore the foundational elements of the play, the myths that shape it, the basketball that powers it, and the emotions that flood its narrative. We're going literally right. Demi goes from a little kid struggling with his powers to a global superstar, but his real battle isn't on the court. It's against the gods and the systems of power they represent.

>> Toby Fraser:

This play has it all. Mythology, basketball, love and justice. It's a story about finding your voice, your power, and your place in a world that's trying to define you.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We'll talk about the myths, the themes, and the incredible artistry behind this production.

>> Toby Fraser:

I was wondering if you'd share just a little bit more about your relationship with your dad and coaching. And we know from the half down of Rainfall that Zeus is Demi's dad and things are not great with him. I don't think either of our dads were anything like that. But, um, what was it like for you?

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Yeah, thank you for that question. It was beautiful and complex, for sure. And my father passed away 14 years ago. And one of the things that's been really transformative is the ways our relationship has continued to evolve since his passing. While he was here. In the physical, we've really had to contend with, I think maybe something lots of folks contend with when they're coming of age is really learning to humanize the decisions or choices of the elders in your community. While Also really honoring or respecting your feelings about those choices. So I love my dad. He did such an incredible job raising us, and there's moments where I felt disappointment or, uh, where I felt further away from him than I would have hoped when I really wanted to be witnessed or cultivate, have a cultivation of a sense of belonging in his presence in a particular part of, you know, my. My artistry or who, you know, my becoming, you know, that I couldn't just quite get met, you know, met there. So that leaves some residual things to contend with as an adult. And yeah, it's been really beautiful to have that relationship, even in his passing, even though he's not here in the physical, become so much stronger, so much richer in ways I never could have imagined and, yeah, weren't possible in the same ways when he was here in the physical. And that's just been an incredibly humbling. And parts of it are sad and parts of it are so joyful. Just all of that is just in there. So today I just feel so much gratitude for that man.

>> Toby Fraser:

Love that.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Yeah. Yeah. And how about you, Toby? I know you mentioned where you grew up in the parental unit and just to focus on. On dads for just a little bit, not to minimize moms, because that we can spend a whole time there. And we're going to really bring it into focus here at the beginning, you know, with this play that has to do with a, uh, son and his father, you know, m. Anything you want to share about your relationship with your dad?

>> Toby Fraser:

Yeah, he's thankfully still with us. Have a pretty good relationship, which I'm thankful for, feel good about. And they live far away. They're down in Florida. I'm up here in Philly. So we're not together very often, but when I think back to being a kid, we were a, uh, pretty active family, wanting to be out and about pretty often. Lots of swimming and not a lot of sports, in part because my dad had polio. So he got polio when he was four, just before the vaccine was coming out or was in widespread use anyway. And so he doesn't have any muscles in his right leg, so he walks with a brace in a cane. And so when we would play basketball together, we would just shoot. We'd play pig or horse or something like that. And so it specifically, it was the dribbling, the walking and bouncing that ball at the same time that I never really practiced. And then just thought, oh, whatever, I'll go to basketball tryouts with my friends. And then that's when those Hyenas came out to play because of how uncoordinated I quickly learned I was. And then, yeah, just didn't have it. Didn't have it to persevere and try to push through. And decided, uh, I'll just keep playing like I do with my dad. This is fun enough. I don't need to be on this team with these other kids who are being kind of mean to me. And so continued to shoot hoops with him in our way the rest of my childhood and teenage years.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Mm m. Yeah.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Thank you for sharing.

>> Toby Fraser:

All right, well, that is us. And a little bit about the play overall. Throughout this series, you'll hear from some of the people involved in the Wilma Theater's production of the Half God of Rainfall. As we get into all of the themes underlying the play.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

We gotta get into it right now. We're going to flash to a conversation we got to have with associate producer and dramaturg Brittany Anukawa. Brittany Anukawa is a Barrymore Award nominated actor, graduate of Rutgers University Camden, and the associate producer of the Wilma Theater. She is excited to be collaborating on the Half God of Rainfall as a dramateur. Some regional credits include the Playboy of the Western World, an army of Lovers, Julius Caesar, the Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged to Reach Across a River, and the Midsummer Night Stream. She's also worked on productions in roles such as Associate Choreographer, Dance Captain, and Fight captain. Brittany, welcome. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for taking time out to be with us today.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Thank you all so much for having me. I'm super excited.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

We wanted to just start by giving you a chance to describe to our listeners what a dramaturg does for folks just coming new to this theater world. For folks not sure what a dramaturg does, how they help to bring a show to life. Maybe you could just share a little bit about the role of the dramaturd.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Yeah, absolutely. As a dramaturd, the first thing I say is that I am not an expert by any means. That's sort of the foundation I lay. I'm just the person who helps to do the research to support the play. That research can look like a bunch of different things. That can just be something as small as a glossary to working with the creative team. If they want background information on certain things, marketing, uh, support making sure that prints look correct or that the characters and the different things that we are trying to base images off of that, that kind of looks correct. I'm really just here to gather as much research to support the play and then support anyone who needs it.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Amazing.

>> Toby Fraser:

Such a necessary role. That one I didn't even know was a, uh, thing four plays before partnering on this one and getting to meet you. So I'm excited to learn about it. And I'm curious for you. What about this play? Have you enjoyed learning about the most? Any, like, tasty treat you can give our listener out there?

>> Brittany Anukua:

Oh, uh, there's so much. So I think with this play specifically, it's been a lot of research, which has been really great. So there's always a lot of different topics that I've kind of had my. My hands in throughout this process. Some of the things that the audience should know going in, I have a couple points, so I'm going to try to be super quick because I know that it can. I can get into the weeds about these things. I've been researching them for a while.

>> Toby Fraser:

Learn out about.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Learn out about it.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Brendan Permission. Okay. Guide. I'm happy to.

>> Toby Fraser:

Um.

>> Brittany Anukua:

One of these really cool facts that I found was first off, when I was learning about the Yoruba religion, um, the Yoruba religion, uh, expanded during the slave trade. And I think that speaks a lot to the resilience of the Yoruba and the Nigerian people. Um, and so as slaves are being brought to what was considered the new world, you know, at the time, Yoruba culture and religion really dominated the subculture of slave society. And instead of Christianity, which was super important at the time and super popular at this time as well, instead of Christianity taking over as this dominant religion, religious sects were formed or started that had elements of both. And so I think the resilience of this religion sort of carrying on and the people carrying that forth through with them through their experiences and journeys. First off, it's so wonderful that we're able to see that arc and that pride in the culture and being able to share these stories and these things that are important were so alive and prevalent and were able to exist today. And the other thing about that as well is that due to the religious sects, there's so many different interpretations of these stories because we have to remember it's an oral tradition, right? The creation stories are going to be different. Who did what, and what story is going to be different? So that's something I always like to point out when doing this research. And this is also very similar in Greek mythology as well. Sometimes you'll hear a story and it's in this version, Zeus did the thing, and then another version, it was poseidon that was one of the things that was really eye opening to me in this moment where it's like there's so much to pull from. And so we want to make sure that we try to stay on our track of whichever origin story we're going to start from and grow from for the sake of this. But also knowing as you do research and as you look into these things, there's going to be so much to pull from, which is great for me because I get to keep digging and digging, but also I only have so much time keeping that in mind. That was super important. The other thing that really stood out to me was the hierarchical structure in both the Greek mythology and the Orisha mythology. The Orisha mythology does not have the same hierarchical structure that the Greeks do. And what I mean by that is with the Greek mythology, you have the origin story, you have Chaos, you have Kronos, you have Gaia, then you know, the birth Zeus and all of those things. That's a very truncated and short version of that origin story. And I give a very similar one for the Orishas as well. The Orishas, the overall creator was Olodumer. Oludumer was the creator of the Earth, who then sent his emissary Obatala to the earth and gave him sort of the tools to continue to create life. And from there, between Olodumer and Obatala, the creation of the Orishas form from there, again, a very truncated story. And so what that points out is that the Orishas in that way are very much on the same footing versus the Greek hierarchical structure is, you know, Zeus is the king, Hera's the queen, you have all of Zeus's many, many, many, many, many kids and what they do and who they represent. It was super interesting in a lot of this research. This festival that I found that really highlights this for the Orisha is this thing, uh, this festival called the Egungun festival, which basically is this festival that celebrates the Orisha deities. And depending on, you know, your town or your village, you might have an Orisha, the main Orisha, if you will, of that area. So let's say if you live near the river, your Egungun festival might be towards Oshun, the Orisha river goddess. But in their case, prayer to one is a prayer to all. And you can reach Oludumer, you can reach Obatara, you can reach the other Orishas through one, and they will all receive that, as opposed to in sort of the Greeks, if you're looking For Zeus, you're looking for Zeus. If you're looking for Aries, you're looking for Aries. And so they have that more of, like, the structures vary. So those were the two biggest things that I thought were really important for me to kind of keep in mind that. I think it might be helpful for audiences to keep in mind that the different variances in these stories and how these structures work and how they come to play out on our stage. Quick little tidbit, little fun fact that I learned was specifically regarding Hera. And I learned that Hera actually frequently punished women for her husband's seductions. Basically, anytime her husband had a desire to have sex or assault these women. There was a lot of times where Hera kind of carried out her own plot against these people. It's popular in the story of Hercules, but there are also so many, many, many more. It would be the women that Zeus assaulted, or it would be the children that were born of those moments. A lot of people focus on Zeus. And so I think that's very interesting. Just that little tidbit of a moment of, like, these choices that these other folks make and how they sort of play together in these many stories. So that was, uh, my little. My little tidbits of things that I think could be a little interesting to go into the show with.

>> Toby Fraser:

Yes. Oh, thank you for those. Those are really interesting tidbits. It's also, yeah, that piece about Zeus and Hera in particular. Just so many parallels to our world today. I mean, a lot about the hierarchy within the Greek gods there, with the king at the top and other people down. And the separation of everything just is so apparent in our world now.

>> Brittany Anukua:

And.

>> Toby Fraser:

And something that I know has been happening in terms of, in some ways viewing it as an either or in a, uh, almost Greek way. And I'm curious about if it's possible to view in more of the Orisha way of all of us together. Is the conversation about, is this Demi's story or is this Madupe's story? And I'm curious, from your research side of things, as a dramaturg, how do you grapple with, you know, whose story is this? What is this story? The half God of rainfall.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Yeah, absolutely. The cool thing about the way that this play is written, there's a big weight that everyone pulls in telling this story. Inua. Ah, Ellen's, the playwright has such a lovely, beautiful structure in that the play kind of flows like you're watching a basketball game, right? This person has the ball dribbles over Passes it to this person. Like the story, it's moving, it's grooving. Oh, my gosh, this happens, that happens. Then what's going to happen? And so there's a lot of carrying that sort of momentum throughout the play. That was just so beautifully written and then is also being just handled with such care by these actors. We see a lot of Demi. We're seeing this play through Demi's eyes. But what we will come to learn is the sacrifice of. Of a mother's love, especially in this case. You know, Demi grows up with a single mother, and how the community interacts with not only Demi, but his mom as well. The sacrifices that both of them make for each other, for themselves. There's so much in Demi's story, but also in the same way, how the Ugungun Festival. Right. Gives back and appreciates, uh, the ancestors of past and appreciates the deities who come before us. There is something to say about recognizing where Demi comes from, how much that importance Medupe has in telling that story. I mean, if it wasn't for Madupe, Demi wouldn't be here. Whether that's for better or for worse in Madupe's story, which we'll come to find out once you come and join us for the show. But I think there definitely is a lot of that give and take here. You can't just get Demi's story without knowing what happened and who Madupe is.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Yeah. Wow. And to see those two actors on stage. We have Jessica Johnson playing Madupe and Demi, played by Anthony Martinez Briggs. To see their relationship throughout that play. Yeah, there's just this beautiful moment where they both come forward and are at the center. And there's this other parts of the play where folks take a step back. Mother child relationship, mother son relationship just gets to be on display for the audience in really beautiful, rich ways. And I think, yeah, how they relate to that structure, the power structure and interact with it and what they're able to. Actually, how they're able to fight against it is really powerful and really beautiful. And so excited for our audience, uh, and our listeners to go and see and take note of all these things that you've lifted up, Brittany, for us to just take account of.

>> Brittany Anukua:

For our.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Last question, you know, there's lots of things happening on the stage, and we've been at rehearsals and seen the ways that folks have been transformed by this playing. And I want to just hold a little bit of time for Brittany Anukua to share a little bit about how has this play transformed you? Uh, what does this play meant to you? To just, uh, be the dramaturg for, to do the research? You have any things that you've harvested for yourself, Your own life, your own path forward in having the chance to engage with this play?

>> Brittany Anukua:

Oh, absolutely. There is so much I remember when I read this play as a Nigerian myself. I remember reading it and thinking, oh, my gosh. Like, that's me. Like, these mythological beings, they look like me. Oh, my gosh. Demi plays basketball. I used to play basketball. I can relate to the injustices that the women on the page are experiencing. And I'm like, I can get. I see it. I see you. I. I relate to that. And there were so many of those moments throughout the play that I just was like. There were so many different moments of connection for me. Something that was. That really stands out for me. And one of the reasons I really wanted to work on this play is I have this love of mythology. The, uh, thing about me and mythology, though, is that it's a very passive relationship with mythology. It usually lands in my lap, and then I'm like, oh, this is cool. I'd like to dig into this more and learn more about this thing. But there's never any sort of, oh, I'm gonna go seek out and learn more in the way that past novology has sort of fallen into my lap, and there's. There's been this interest. This script kind of did the same thing, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. I can relate to these characters, and I can see myself in these characters, and I'm learning more about my Nigerian culture and what are our mythologies? What are, uh. What are those things to us just being able, again, to relate to playing basketball in middle school, uh, you know, torn up on the court, and it's just, like, bringing me back all these, like, moments of joy. And I think that's exactly what this play does. It has moments of joy and light, but it also has moments of darkness and just strength. And there's so much in this script, in my research, and in doing all this work. It also just connected me more with my community, specifically. And I have to shout out my local library. I love the library. I grew up as, like, a library kid. I would go every weekend, and my mom would be like, all right, kids, ready to go? And I'm like, I'm ready. I already know what books I want. I know what DVDs I'm gonna get this week. Like, I'm so ready for it. And Just being able to connect to that space as well and just saying, hey, I have this play that I'm researching, and I would love to know more about what resources are offered to me to do the best I can to support these people with the research that they need so that they can do the best job that they can on stage. These librarians were so lovely. They were so sweet. They were like, I don't really know what you need, but here are materials. And if this doesn't work for you, let us know what you need. Didn't like, and we'll get you more. Let us know what you did like, and we'll get you more things. It was just such a lovely experience just being able to reconnect with those parts of myself as well while learning about things that are just overall interesting and getting to unpack things. Power and privilege and patriarchy and how that shows up and how does it show up in our waking lives? How does it show up within these interactions between these characters? What can we learn from them? Who can become a God? These are a bunch of the questions that really drove my research that I was really just excited to look into and find answers for and keep finding answers for and finding new answers for it. So. Yeah.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Wow. Oh, my goodness. Incredible. Well, I'm so grateful that this play fell into your lap and that you picked it up with so much love and care and diligence and that you were the dramaturg for this play, the half God of rainfall. And it's so obvious that all of your interest in who you are and your love of theater and your love of mythology, it comes through. And the audience for sure, will benefit from everything you've brought. So, Toby, any last things you want to say before we we head out?

>> Toby Fraser:

I just want to check and make sure that if you don't mind being that incredible librarian figure for all the rest of us and the listeners now and the people who come speed of play. And will you share a little of what you learned in a way that we can access? Whether we put a link in the show notes? Is it maybe on a website somewhere?

>> Brittany Anukua:

Oh, absolutely. If you check out our website, Wilmatheater.org under the half God of rainfall, there will actually be a section of dramaturgy that I've already put up there for everyone to access. There's things to listen to, things to read, things to watch. So a little bit of everything and just giving a little bit more background of to myself and my research, how I structured this research and how I hope that it is able to be impactful and beneficial and just different materials that I hope that, you know, everyone can interact with and learn something, share something, enjoy something and just be connected.

>> Toby Fraser:

Be transformed like you have been and like I definitely have been. And our, uh, listener I know will be as well. So thank you so much, Brittany. We'll see you at the theater, of course.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Thanks for having me.

>> Toby Fraser:

Well, that was a great convo that we had with Brittany. We hope you enjoyed listening to it as much as we enjoyed having it. Learned a lot. Can't wait to check those show notes to learn even more about the Half God of Rainfall.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

To learn more about Brittany and her work, Visit her website, Brittany Onew. That's Brittany onu.WordPress.com or look her up on social media. Brittany Onu, the Half God of Rainfall is playing at the Wilma Theater live in Philadelphia from February 11th through March 2nd and streaming for a limited time in March. Visit WilmoTheater.org for tickets and more information. Follow us on social media at the Wilma Theatre.

>> Toby Fraser:

Wilma Theater cast is joyfully produced by the Tony Award winning Wilmet Theater as part of our Accessible Productions initiative, a program that brings community partners into the rehearsal process and invites them to make creative responses to the work. This program is made possible with support from the William Penn Foundation.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Music today comes directly from the composers of the Half God of rainfall, Jordan McCree and Elle Morris of Ill Dukes. We also had music from the Half God mixtape, a project by yours truly and Martronomus. Subscribe to Wynwin Theater Cast wherever you get your podcast and join us as we break it all down. One myth, one game, one powerful moment at a time. I'm Dwight Dunston.

>> Toby Fraser:

And I'm Dwight Dunston.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Nice.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Nice.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

I love it. Great. Great.

>> Toby Fraser:

Couldn't help the better.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Didn't I love.

>> Toby Fraser:

But I could just start with me, right? You didn't have to start.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Okay.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

I said my first and second name.

>> Toby Fraser:

You hate that. Do you want me to mirror it?

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Yeah.

>> Toby Fraser:

Okay.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

Also, you don't sound excited about the podcast.

>> Brittany Anukua:

Uh, God. Uh.

>> Toby Fraser:

Damn. Okay. Sound like this is terrible.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

This is terrible.

>> Toby Fraser:

I'm in prison, right?

>> Dwight Dunstan:

You sound like you're.

>> Toby Fraser:

That's good. Didn't know. Okay.

>> Dwight Dunstan:

What number I'm like do you want us to go see the. But you got to find that thing. I know we tired. I know we tired.

>> Toby Fraser:

You're good. You're good Feedback. However you say your name. I'll say my name. Great.

People on this episode

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Dwight Dunston

Co-host
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Toby Fraser

Co-host
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Peterson Toscano, Handcrafted Sound

Producer