Creative Statement
Photo by Xanthe Elbrick Photography
The Actual Dance has been inside me for a long time, I just did not know it. It has been unfolding for about five years, as elements of the show have appeared through my work with Artistic New Directions and teachers Carol Fox Prescott, Gary Austin and Jeffrey Sweet.
Elements of the show have been discovered along the way. One major character in the show, the breast surgeon, was developed during a Gary Austin workshop called the 48th Street Exercise. The Ballroom metaphor came together in Carol Fox Prescott’s acting classes.
The Actual Dance became full-born when I hired Gabrielle Maisels as my dramaturg and she guided me through completing the work. And since completing in chief the script in June 2012, I have learned that the show itself has a deep gift within it – and that each time I perform I learn new things about the work and the gift.
It has broad appeal and presents a point of view that is almost never heard. It is the man’s story and voice in the breast cancer experience. It is a love story. And it is a story that explicitly talks about confronting the most dreaded possible experience – taking the person you love most in the world through the end of life. It isn’t about their story—it is about “How do I do this? How do I dance the last dance with (Susan)?” It is about moving from the fear of a “devastating and tragic experience” to an understanding of “the beauty and dignity” of the gift of the Actual Dance and that “it will be the ultimate consummation of our love.”
The audience reaction and feedback is what energizes me to continue the development and performance. From the first reading and for each reading and now performance, someone – and usually many -- in the audience are in some way changed or transformed by the show. A few of the audience reactions that I have received:
“I never understood why my wife reacted to my cancer the way she did, now I know.” “It changed my life.” “I am still living in the glow of last evening…and your singing the Hebrew Prayer totally blew me away. It was brilliant…” “I want to tell you again how much your play moved me. Parts of it have kept coming into my mind when I least expect it. It was so powerful, sweet and tender, and at the same time gut-wrenching and full of pain and anguish…”
Through performance and engagement with audiences I have come to understand that there is a hunger for this topic. The experience of writing and performing this play has also transformed me. I have begun to write poetry based on the play. I invite you to look at the poetry at www.theactualdance.com
Elements of the show have been discovered along the way. One major character in the show, the breast surgeon, was developed during a Gary Austin workshop called the 48th Street Exercise. The Ballroom metaphor came together in Carol Fox Prescott’s acting classes.
The Actual Dance became full-born when I hired Gabrielle Maisels as my dramaturg and she guided me through completing the work. And since completing in chief the script in June 2012, I have learned that the show itself has a deep gift within it – and that each time I perform I learn new things about the work and the gift.
It has broad appeal and presents a point of view that is almost never heard. It is the man’s story and voice in the breast cancer experience. It is a love story. And it is a story that explicitly talks about confronting the most dreaded possible experience – taking the person you love most in the world through the end of life. It isn’t about their story—it is about “How do I do this? How do I dance the last dance with (Susan)?” It is about moving from the fear of a “devastating and tragic experience” to an understanding of “the beauty and dignity” of the gift of the Actual Dance and that “it will be the ultimate consummation of our love.”
The audience reaction and feedback is what energizes me to continue the development and performance. From the first reading and for each reading and now performance, someone – and usually many -- in the audience are in some way changed or transformed by the show. A few of the audience reactions that I have received:
“I never understood why my wife reacted to my cancer the way she did, now I know.” “It changed my life.” “I am still living in the glow of last evening…and your singing the Hebrew Prayer totally blew me away. It was brilliant…” “I want to tell you again how much your play moved me. Parts of it have kept coming into my mind when I least expect it. It was so powerful, sweet and tender, and at the same time gut-wrenching and full of pain and anguish…”
Through performance and engagement with audiences I have come to understand that there is a hunger for this topic. The experience of writing and performing this play has also transformed me. I have begun to write poetry based on the play. I invite you to look at the poetry at www.theactualdance.com
