Death and The Act of Living
a collaboration with William Cook
Death and The Act of Living is a two-person multi-media play with no fourth wall, using direct address. It is an attempt to bring a new awareness to death while coming to terms with death and mortality. The project provides an experience of how end-of -life issues can be met with sober reflection, but with elements of joyful illumination and life. Performers and audience interact in parts as the exploration unfolds. Video, movement, music/sound and text fill the space. The show ends with the audience being tucked under a giant blanket together (covid permitting). The piece creates a space that will allow for a safe exploration and commentary on the topic of death and how we confront and cope with mourning and prognosis. It will be an open space that allows conversation between performers and audience, with the audience participating both in their seats and on stage. Lighting will be a tool to include, or exclude, as needed, particularly to delineate spaces for action. We have done a single public workshop performance at Dixon Place in March 2017. This performance followed a year of research in text, music, sounds and movement and signified an early shaping of the text and staging. (We believe in slow theater.)