AND THEN I WOKE (A VICARIOUS CATACLYSMIC EVENT)
Conceived by Cherrye J. Davis, Nilan Johnson, and Gabriel Stelian-Shanks
Directed by Gabriel Stelian-Shanks
Designed by Marc Stuart Jablonski, Erik C. Bruce and Catalin Stelian-Shanks
Assistant Director: Scott F. Davis
Performed by Cherrye J. Davis and Nilan Johnson
2017 TOUR
- Downtown Art Space, New York City, January 25-30, 2017
- Varna International Theatre Festival, Varna, Bulgaria, June 4-7, 2017
- National Jewish Theatre of Romania, Bucharest, Romania, June 10, 2017
- Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Sibiu, Romania, June 12, 2017
This piece received developmental workshops at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (New York City) and Bedlam Theatre Company (New York City). It is dedicated to Eric Garner, his family, and loved ones.
SYNOPSIS
AND THEN I WOKE (A VICARIOUS CATACLYSMIC EVENT) leaps from laptops, iPads and computer screens to explore the phenomenon of YouTube-captured violence perpetrated on African-Americans by those most entrusted with their safety...law enforcement police officers. Seen by millions around the world in first-person video, the murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, and dozens of others demand an answer to one heartbreaking question: how did we get to this place?
Inspired by Peter Handke's masterpiece "Self-Accusation," AND THEN I WOKE steps back to our earliest beginnings, to look at how we become who we are...not only that black lives matter, but how they are made. In a world where watching a murder is just one click of a mouse away, the scientific term for these psychic shocks -- "vicarious cataclysmic events" -- becomes a thrilling reimagining of our quest to understand our fellow humans.
PHOTO GALLERY | CLICK TO MOVE FORWARD
All images taken from the June 2016 workshop at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center.
VIDEO
June 2016 workshop at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center.