Force of Nature
Winner 2015 Best of Fringe
Winner 2015 Sold Out Award (all performances sold out)
Sara K. on September 24, 2015 at 11:27 pm said:
On one level, this is a story about deciding whether or not to have a child, and then the process of trying to have a child while having doubts about whether to continue trying. On a higher level, this is a story about trying to control what happens in a world full of seemingly random events, governed by luck, where the ‘experts’ don’t necessarily have the answers, and there is no guaranteed formula for success. Indeed, we puny mortals have only limited power when faced with the Force of Nature. We can’t even control our own bodies.I’ve never tried to get pregnant (though I’ve heard about how long my mother spent ‘trying’ … I recognized the post-coital ‘let the sperm go downhill’ pose from my mother’s tales). However, everyone has to live in the world where doctors often don’t understand what somebody’s body is doing, where people respond to other people’s troubles with ‘helpful’ advice, and where we often don’t get what we want due to factors beyond our control (or maybe they *are* in our control, we’re just too incompentent to do the right thing … because thinking of ourselves as failures is less scary than the prospect that we cannot be in control). In other words, I think anybody who sees this show can relate to the higher level of this story.The performance is excellent. A lot of the show is funny, and then, at various moments, she transitions into a very vulnerable state, and she offers us a window into her doubts, fears, and pain.This show earned its Best of the Fringe award. It is one of the best this year, and I have seen all 34 shows in this year’s festival.
Stephanie Dale on September 24, 2015 at 12:49 pm said:
Sitting in the front row for this show, I was almost uncomfortable with Eleanor’s powerful and personal performance. At times funny, at times nearly unbearably sad, she really conveyed the roller coaster of emotions she’s experienced in her journey to parenthood. A terrific play and memorable actor – kudos all around.
Heather Collins on September 23, 2015 at 12:06 am said:
I saw this play over two days ago now and I’m still thinking about it. I love how courageous Eleanor is to have put her story into theater; it really touched my heart to have been allowed to be a part of her experience. This show is such a wonderful example of how one woman’s pain, bravery, humor, and resilience has translated into a piece of art that will help change people’s minds and lives for the better. I can’t say enough about how much this affected me. Well done, Eleanor! You’re an inspiration.
Merit on September 22, 2015 at 11:15 pm said:
Eleanor’s performance in Force of Nature was RAW, EMOTIONAL, unexpected, and REAL. Real humor dealing with a ‘delicate’ and a ‘not much talked about’ topic. Joyful, hopeful, and sincere–about life, and all we can’t control. Kudos to her and her team! Great show!!!
Adrienne Dale on September 22, 2015 at 10:41 pm said:
Fabulous, fabulous show! We were so impressed with Force of Nature! The writing, the staging, the performance, the subtle power of the little hand gesture and lighting effect indicating the little spirit leaving her body — all so powerfully effective. Funny and moving. Our attention was riveted every moment.
Gunnar on September 22, 2015 at 10:41 pm said:
Eleanor really held the stage, and I was impressed. Every gesture and inflection seems to have been thought through, for best effect. A very good, funny, smart show, on a tough subject. Well done!
Sarah A. on September 22, 2015 at 10:11 pm said:
Incredible performance and show. Such a difficult subject to address and Eleanor did it with poise, humility, laughter, and tremendous bravery. I’m sure performing a one-woman play – let alone one on “trying” and having multiple, devastating miscarriages – is emotionally exhausting, but Eleanor is a star. Her writing and delivery intimately convey one of the often silently- and individually-suffered but widely-experienced true griefs of being human: the inability, at times, to shape your life into the future you’d pictured and desperately wished for, made perhaps hardest of all when talking about children. I hope Eleanor continues to share her important play with other audiences in the Bay Area and beyond. What a talent and what a brave, generous and lovely soul. Regardless of how her story turns out, the world is lucky to have her.
Maya on September 22, 2015 at 6:23 pm said:
Wow!!!! What a great performance!!! So real and raw and vulnerable. She was able to give voice to the cluster of voices of indecision, and to the quite, soft voice, of a cautious yes. Everything about it was incredible!!!
Rebecca Pingree on September 21, 2015 at 2:17 pm said:
I can hardly express the awesome that is Force of Nature. Eleanor Mason Reinholdt has all the goods: wit, honesty, irreverence, hilarity, unflinching humility and deep emotion truths. To say I laughed and cried is an understatement: I cackled and stifled sobs. This is a gem of a new voice, and I hope we hear so much more from her. Go see this show.
Masha LePort on September 21, 2015 at 1:15 pm said:
Wow! Just wow! I cannot remember the last time I was this moved. Eleanor was captivating, I barely took a breath. The performance was incredibly dynamic, creative, vulnerable, deep, and authentic. Wherher you are a man, woman, mother, or not, Eleanor’s story was a gift and a true labor of love.
Robin Phillips on September 21, 2015 at 9:52 am said:
This play was incredibly powerful. I laughed and I cried, and I nodded in a agreement and I am so grateful to Eleanor for putting herself and her experiences out there for the rest of us. It was well written, well performed, but so much more than that – Eleanor showed us her heart and her soul. She shared the most private of her love and her heartbreak and I admire and respect her for doing so. I hope the audience for this work can grow and grow, because hopeful parents everywhere can relate 100% to the story she tells. Thank you Eleanor!!
Harmony on September 21, 2015 at 9:44 am said:
What a beautiful performance! This show is a gift to all women and I wish everyone could see it. We all could use more compassion for the terrible anxiety and ambivalence that surrounds motherhood.
Tara Schraga on September 20, 2015 at 9:53 pm said:
Eleanor’s talent, mind, and heart are what make her a true Force of Nature. This show was incredibly personal and yet there we were laughing HARD. The laughter was balanced by moments that were so intense, sad, and powerful. What a show, it flew by in a moment. Eleanor is a plainly masterful storyteller and actress. I wish everyone could see this show, its a gift for so many of us.
Brian on September 20, 2015 at 8:43 pm said:
Just, WOW!! Eleanor delivers a deeply profound story of her journey of motherhood, with a nice touch of humor that never detracts from the emotion and vulnerability of her struggle. I have tears in my eyes far after the end of her performance, as she truly conveyed the emotion of her journey. So powerful …
Ed on September 20, 2015 at 8:39 pm said:
What a powerful view Eleanor brings to the hope, joy, fear and sadness of being a human. A touching story delivered with humour.
Francisco LePort on September 20, 2015 at 8:38 pm said:
Force of Nature was incredible! So real, so passionate, so funny, so moving. I felt connected at the same time to her journey, but also the journey toward any pregnancy and the journey of simply being human. It was completely captivating from beginning to end.
Katie Frassinelli on September 20, 2015 at 8:37 pm said:
Force of Nature is an incredible show. Smart, funny, touching and above all else real. Not to be missed!!!
Leslie on September 20, 2015 at 8:34 pm said:
Eleanor’s performance powerful, funny, and raw. Amazing portrayal of what it means to be a woman in an era of deprioritized motherhood and perceived control. I am the type to look at my watch many times in a performance, and not once tonight did it cross my mind. She’s riveting.
Kimberly Dooley on September 20, 2015 at 8:34 pm said:
I was so moved by this show. Such humor, honesty, bravery and FORCE. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, waiting eagerly for more. Brava and thank you.
Bekka on September 20, 2015 at 8:33 pm said:
An amazing and highly personal experience. I was touched in some of my own dark and light places…laughed and also dropped into sadness. An important story told in a very unique way. Thank you for hosting Force Of Nature!!!!!
Alice on September 20, 2015 at 2:34 pm said:
What a woman. ELEANOR is a Force of Nature and I am truly honored and humbled to have witnessed what she created. The script and acting are gifted and artful – she brought me along with her on the journey: ups and downs, pain and absurdity, vulnerability and courage, laughter and tears. Eleanor explores not just procreation, but also existence, partnership, powerlessness, powerfulness…it is all so deeply human and poignant. THANK YOU Eleanor for sharing this work. Fringe would be lucky to have her perform for an extra night. She most definitely gets my vote!
Adam Coutts on September 19, 2015 at 2:04 pm said:
Eleanor’s play was powerful and moving. She embodied a remarkable self-awareness and authenticity in exploring deep and personal subject matter that touch on the lives of many of us in an actually entertaining and often hilarious way. I appreciate and respect what she has brought as a gift for the us in the audience.
Melinda Laird Lewis on September 19, 2015 at 11:28 am said:
My husband and I attended the opening show and absolutely loved it. Eleanor was funny and poignant. The subject matter was so personal and vulnerable, but it wasn’t heavy. We can’t recommend this highly enough!
Mark Lewis on September 19, 2015 at 10:04 am said:
Score! Want to see an AMAZING show? Make sure to catch Eleanor Mason Reinholdt in her solo show Force Of Nature (tonight and next week). I was blown away by the performance. The material was brilliant, the performance of it was stunning. Eleanor was captivating. I laughed. I cried. I felt hope and despair. I came out feeling more alive and in love with life. I was quite simply delighted with the entire experience. Bravo Eleanor! If you enjoy theater and acting, you will love this show. Give yourself this gift.
Alex Shoykhet on September 17, 2015 at 6:10 pm said:
I was moved by Eleanor’s raw emotional power, vulnerability and humor. An amazing performance
Jenevie on September 17, 2015 at 11:21 am said:
Words cannot express how deeply Eleanor’s art touched me. I think many women of breeding years can empathize, at least in some ways, with the conversation she has laid out so vulnerably. This show also sheds light on a woman’s plight in the game of conception for the man who loves her. Eleanor has hilariously shared her heart and all the depths of its bitter and sweet.
Zoe Sipe on September 14, 2015 at 7:38 pm said:
Eleanor’s one woman show was one of the most stunning theatrical performances I can remember attending. She was able to articulate an extremely difficult challenge for women and couples with intelligence, wit, humor, and an authenticity that moved me to my core. At the end of the show, it seemed the entire audience literally jumped to our feet in standing ovation, tears running down many faces, and beams of artistic resonance from the experience of another human giving voice to a topic that’s so difficult to talk about. Thank you, Eleanor, for your courage and vulnerability–you are truly a force of nature!
Kate Niebauer on September 14, 2015 at 2:09 pm said:
Eleanor Reinholdt expresses the challenges of women who struggle with both the choice and the act of conceiving a child with intelligent humor alongside the raw pain of this time. Watching her play was an act of healing for those of us who have struggled with similar issues. Thank you Eleanor, for your honesty and courage. It is a stunning performance that has stayed with me in the form of wisdom and forgiveness.
Walt Sipe on September 14, 2015 at 2:05 pm said:
Having not stepped on stage since the days of the high-school play, I never truly “got” what it meant for a performer to be fully vulnerable in a theater. After watching — viscerally feeling, actually — Eleanor’s performance of Force of Nature I now get it. I am totally astonished at the depth and range of emotions that she conveyed as she shared her still ongoing journey around motherhood, and even more surprised to encounter the feelings arising in myself while watching. “Force of Nature” might just as aptly apply to Eleanor herself.
Sandy Hunt on September 14, 2015 at 11:20 am said:
I was not aware that I was breathing during the performance as I was truly touched and shaken by this play. That this actress wrote AND performed this play is a mark of great talent beyond any expectation. There was an immediate, standing ovation by everyone. Unbelievable talent! My deepest appreciation
Greg on September 13, 2015 at 10:48 pm said:
Eleanor Mason Reinholdt’s “Force of Nature” was a surprisingly entertaining performance of one person’s lived experience in the challenges and issues that surround family, conception, and fertility. The show is an exciting ride, a literal roller-coaster which is at times funny and poignant, all delivered with sometimes scary yet compelling transparency. I was thoroughly delighted and engaged throughout.
Freida Neiman on September 13, 2015 at 12:47 pm said:
Brava! I am honored to have been able to witness this deeply moving and vulnerable one-woman show by Eleanor Reinholdt. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole performance either laughing uncontrollably or aching with compassion and sadness. I was so touched by Eleanor’s REALNESS and diving so deep about a conversation that most people can’t bear to discuss.As someone who has miscarried, I felt her grief, frustration and loss acutely. And for the thousands of women who have experienced this loss and uncertainty, Eleanor has given these women a voice and created a safe place for us to have this powerful dialogue. Eleanor, thank you for sharing your story with us and with the world!
Elisabeth Becker on September 13, 2015 at 12:32 am said:
Eleanor is a phenomenal woman and a heartfelt actress. She has put her heart and soul into this one woman show and you’re damn right she’s a force of nature! It is deeply moving and hilarious at the same time. Bring some tissues because your heart strings will be pulled.
Steve Cresci on September 12, 2015 at 9:40 pm said:
Such a powerful performance by Eleanor. The metaphor that was mentioned in her performance was roller coaster. That so adequately describes the highs and lows of the sixty minutes we share with Eleanor. Laughter and tears. Soul bearing. Awesome.
Leandra Getz on September 11, 2015 at 10:58 pm said:
Wow. Just wow. What a great show. It tackles a topic that many people live through, but nobody ever talks about. Eleanor bravely opens up her experience to the audience, in a way that is at times funny, sweet, heartbreaking and raw. The show is mesmerizing from start to finish. Well done!!
Mary Gibboney on September 11, 2015 at 3:43 pm said:
I find myself thinking daily about aspects of this funny and moving story. Eleanor opens up and delivers all her wit and abundant love as she navigates through the tale of her attempts at procreation. Her honesty will captivate you as it did me.
Marin Van Young on September 11, 2015 at 2:23 pm said:
I had some trouble giving Eleanor a hug after I saw her preview because I was crying too hard. This is a lovely show, touching on taboo subjects like infertility, age and ambivalence. Eleanor handles them all with grace and humor, of course, but also with absolute courage and transparency. I wish I could see this show again. Eleanor is a beautiful performer and writer and this is important stuff. Standing ovation