Edited by Katharine Viner and Alan Rickman from the writings of Rachel Corrie.

Performed by Emiley Kiser with the audience.
Design by Daphne Agosin with Scenic Painting by Kandi Jamieson.

Community tour partners include Alley Cat Studios and Orchids True Blue (Evanston, IL), Lake Street Church (Evanston, IL), Bill Ayers (Chicago, IL), 33rd Ward Working Families (Chicago, IL), Clear Creek Creative and Bereans for Palestine (Berea, KY).

A work-in-progress developed by performance maker Kost and director Alex Mallory confronting the technological reckoning, artificial intelligence, and what makes us human. Read more about their work at www.jtkost.com.

The Vulnerable Year was The Metal Shop's first experiment in the 40-hour workshop, in which the artists were paid for their time with no expectation of final product, and in co-creative process, in which the concept, text, and performance were developed concurrently and in response to one another. The resulting work-in-process presentation experimented with establishing consent for controlled and improvised audience interactions, exploring comfort zones for both audience and performer in search of mutuality.

A WAKENING is a call to break generational cycles of silence, shame, and trauma through personal connection. A WAKENING invites its audiences to encounter deconstructed scenes and characters from Frank Wedekind's 1891 play Frühlings Erwachen (Spring Awakening), in which the adolescent need to experience life for oneself and the parental desire to protect create a seemingly impenetrable divide. These pieces are layered with stories, encounters, and works of art inspired by these scenes and characters, linking people together through story and lived experience. A WAKENING is an installation: the space is filled with letters and notes, images, and audio-visual elements. Audience members are invited to interact with the space and to take or leave something of themselves in the space, by writing on a post-it or in a journal, drawing, or recording a voice or video memo, leaving an imprint of their experience behind.

Rehearsals for an earlier iteration of the project began in March 2020. Due to the disruption of COVID-19, the performers created their own video responses to the work through virtual meetings, elements of which will be incorporated into the installation project.

2020 A WAKENING Team:
Devisers: Anna Civik, Cayla Jones, Juliet Wolfe, Owen Boardman, Tulsi McDaniels;
Concept & Direction: Alex Mallory; Associate Director: Claire Bauman; Stage Manager: Audrey Ney; Design Consultant: Gabrielle Strong; Dramaturg: Rebekah Bryer.
Graphic design by Anna Cohen.