Artist Statement
Burning Bones Physical Theatre’s Hysteria series expands narratives and challenges stereotypes about mental illness and experiences faced by those of historically marginalized genders in navigating public and professional spaces. We combine butoh1, burlesque, and mask work (specially neutral mask and commedia dell’arte traditions) to devise performances that work with the physical environment to create visual poems. The Hysteria Series is an evolving program of devised performances exploring the world of being an “incurable woman.” The series resulted from our research and exploration into a) the stories of women in psychiatric hospitals diagnosed with hysteria, (such as documents from the Salpêtrière asylum for incurable women); b) the role of photographing these women in establishing the practice of psychology; c) the evolution of “symptoms” that were once considered religious experience, then signs of witchcraft, then symptoms of mental illness; d) the portrayal of women and their emotions in theatre, film, and television; e) the way the public discourse on mental health has changed following the 2020 pandemic and shutdown; f) and the prevalence of social media in shaping how we now express ourselves and connect with others. By bridging this little-known historical record with contemporary issues we are inviting the public to take stock of where we have been and where we are now, in order to ignite questions about where we are heading. Performances will showcase new work in this series including a new piece entitled, Why Can I Only Hear You When You Scream?.
Artist Bio
Burning Bones Physical Theatre seeks to contribute to an original and fearless live performance and quality training culture in Atlanta by equipping actors with concrete skills they can take forward in their careers to meet the demands of the industry and building community engagement with compelling physical performances. Burning Bones accomplishes this by creating productions that include personalized skill development for its cast in the rehearsal process, offering workshops to the community, and prioritizing local artists and organizations in its partnerships. We are committed to the development of performance in the southeast, the continued progress of Atlanta as a site for unique and exciting artistic works, and the representation our work outside of the southeast as proudly Atlanta-based. We are committed to respect for our audiences, and engagement in processes that are transparent, responsive, evolving, and supportive for all involved in creating each production (cast, crew and community). We draw on several traditions which form a core part of our creative practice and lineage including butoh, clowning, Fitzmaurice Voicework®, and Organic Intelligence®. Burning Bones Physical Theatre has successfully created the butoh-based theatrical productions One for the Road, Too Far for Comfort, and Harry Clarke. Burning Bones’ work has also been showcased in Spring for Spring dance festival (2021), So Long, Farewell (2021), Human Lights Festival: A Curious Encounter (2021), and the Atlanta Fringe Festival (2022). We are Reiser Artists Lab recipients for 2022-2023 and new work in our Hysteria Series will be debuted at Art on the Beltline in 2023 as part of the Beltline Flow and Beltline After Dark programming.