every.single.one
Cherie Sampson
A one-woman multimedia performance portraying intimate personal, familial and community stories about hereditary cancer, integrative oncology and survival from a patient's perspective of modern medicine.
Venue: Southern Theater
Tagged For: Dance, Dance - Global, Drama, Original Music, Solo Show, Spoken Word, Storytelling
Content Warnings: Flashing Lights
Ages 12-15 and Up
Not for everyone, I realize, given the subject matter, but the more I read about this one, the more drawn I am to see it, so it’s on the list.
The More Information tab and the Cast and Crew tab for this show’s Fringe page really are a wealth of information. Some excerpts:
“In 2017, when artist Cherie Sampson posted images of a series of photographs taken in a natural environment of her body made hairless from chemotherapy, a friend and ovarian cancer survivor commented, ‘Every. Single. One. of us who has been with this disease is validated, loved and to a certain extent, freed by this image.’
(The photos are powerful - you can check them out here)
‘every.single.one,’ is a multi-media performance by Cherie Sampson that depicts personal, familial and community stories about hereditary cancer while exploring topics of genetics, integrative oncology, and healing from a patient’s perspective of modern medicine. It interweaves three levels of testimonial – Cherie’s own, her sister’s, and those of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer survivors and previvors, whose stories were conveyed to Cherie in a series of interviews. (‘Previvors’ are people who take prophylactic measures to prevent cancer when they carry a known genetic risk, such as a mutation in the BRCA gene). The artist documented her cancer experience in audio-visual material, including the phone call delivering the news of the diagnosis. That collection of material has been edited into short film/video vignettes and soundscapes to comprise the audio-visual environment of the performance that, along with spoken word and expressive movement, is integral to the storytelling. Dance as a healing practice is an important throughline in the performance as it was during Cherie’s treatment and recovery. Shortly after her diagnosis, she informed her dance mentor in south Indian classical dance, Anjali Tata-Hudson, that she wished ‘to keep dancing through this.’ Together, they worked on traditional dance items that would provide focus for physical, emotional, and spiritual strength, then later re-envisioned them into creative movement segments co-choreographed for this performance. “every.single.one” is a dramatic interpretation of an intimately personal and simultaneously universal human reality that explores the body as a site of uncertainty in illness, loss, sibling, and community interrelationship and survival. Initiating the project during treatment provided Cherie with a means to process the life-altering ordeal in which to, in the words of Black feminist poet, Audre Lorde, ‘examine it, put it into perspective, share it and make use of it.’
After each of the five performances of ‘every.single.one’ at MN Fringe, audiences will be invited to participate in an optional survey for a research project being conducted by the artist called ‘every.single.one: Assessing Impact on Audiences of a Theatrical Performance About Cancer.’ The purpose of this research project is to observe changes in attitude, empathy, understanding, and knowledge in audiences after seeing the performance. The survey will be mentioned by Cherie Sampson’s stage assistant before and after each performance. A postcard will be circulated after each performance with a QR code printed on it that can be scanned to access the survey.
The performance of ‘every.single.one’ for the MN Fringe is a 56-minute version of the full production (100 min). The full production will debut in early 2025.”
Just… wow. I’ll be there.
Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.
While I have your attention, please VOTE :)
Minnesota is currently in the early voting period
for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate,
Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to
vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait
until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)
Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th.
We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your
vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and
gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.
As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.
Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.
For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.
Vote. Raise your voice. We're not going back.
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