There are plenty of words in the English language that are distainful, hurtful, nasty, & downright awful, but there are two words that are unavoidable and from which we often run: death & dying - no one enjoys grief, sadness, or loss - those words are so dam final! When I was in social work school, I read Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book aptly titled On Death and Dying, seminol work at that time. Kubler-Ross introduced what is known as the 5 stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance; a 6th stage was more recently added by a colleague of Kubler-Ross', David Kessler, Finding Meaning. It turns out that this concept may have been in Kubler-Ross' initial model, but her editor told her to remove it, as 5 stages are better than 6, although, as anyone who has experienced grief knows, this is not a linear process.
One incredibly gifted creator, producer, and writer decided to take on this subject, but not as a passive project, but a fully engaging, head-on discussion to move us, make us think, and maybe make us less afraid of the inevitable.
Grief Dialogues: The Experience brings timely conversations about death, dying, and grief to the stage in innovative, humorous, and touching ways. Part theatre, part therapy, this "edutainment" love that creative name, project began in 2016 with an open call for short plays and was developed from nearly 200 submissions. The original performance was composed of 6 short plays from playwrights across the country. It is a thought-provoking and honest look at the subject of death that invites audiences to reconsider some of the rhetoric and stigmas around the topic. As one of my guests shares: Theatre is the great empathy generator, and out of grief, comes art. Grief Dialogues is also committed to offering accessible and affordable training in compassion for health care providers, counselors and therapists, end-of-life specialists, funeral homes, and at-home caregivers.
Let's Write a Musical was born out of this concept of 'out of grief, comes art.'
A Musical About Love, Loss, and the Power of Storytelling. A joyous celebration of the power of love and an ode to classic musicals.
A heartfelt and inspiring journey that follows David Hamilton and his wife, Lucy (based on Ben and Lawrie), as they write a romantic comedy in the wake of David's cancer diagnosis. As their real-life challenges unfold, so does the story of Olive and Blake, a young couple in the 1950s navigating love, laughter, and misadventures.
For more information, check out their website: https://www.griefdialogues.com/
Tickets for Let's Write a Musical are on sale now:
https://www.griefdialogues.com/lets-write-a-musical/
