What does it mean to be a person – to have a body, and live in it – to make choices, and change over time – to tell the truth?

– | show

Pity+Fear (a travesty)

Falling, turned to stone, and falling again

A painting of Truth emerging from her well, ripped along the bust to reveal tattoos and coveralls, and text with the show title & dates.

Read the script »

Pity+Fear in an intimate and darkly comic attempt at a one-woman tragedy, featuring two women and a guitar. Over the course of the evening, Miriam & Josie fail to grapple with queer identity, platonic realism, the conflicting myths of Agraulos, and what to order for dinner.

There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.

—Audre Lorde

Press

Pity+Fear (a travesty) was, beginning to end, incisive, insightful, sensitive and at keen times humorous without trivializing anyone’s struggles and challenges.

—Queen City Sounds & Art: Live Show Review

Photos

Mia in yellow coveralls on a black background lit from below with her arms raised and papers falling around her Miriam looking at her wet hands Miriam reaching dramatically across her body with a ladder in the background Josie sitting with a guitar, looking at the camera Miriam lit from below with her hands pulling away from her chest A blur of Miriam in front of a black platform covered in stacks of paper and a mop bucket. Josie's feet, guitar, and light board are visible in the background Miriam holding a crumpled wad of paper and talking, with Josie out of focus behind her Miriam crouched by a platform covered in paper, writing on a roll of white gaff tape Josie singing in the foreground, with Miriam on a ladder looking at papers behind her Josie singing in the foreground, with Miriam on a ladder out of focus behind her Miriam holding a paper with a drawing of a half-child, half-serpent, gesturing and talking Miriam looking down, with one hand on her leg and the other hand across her pelvis Miriam from behind at a microphone, mostly dark, but glowing with a blue light on her face Josie singing a song Miriam at the top of a ladder, holding papers and talking into a microphone Miriam leans over a mop bucket to wash her hands. The bucket is glowing from inside and surrounded by papers Miriam has one arm extended but is looking down at the other as it brushes something from her leg Josie's mic and hand in the foreground but the focus is Miriam's shadow cast in blue light on the back wall of the theater next to a rack of stage lights
Production photos by Kenny Storms

Credits

Written by Miriam Suzanne, with original music & lyrics by Josselyn Cool (Better Selfs, Teacup Gorilla). Designed & developed with Julie Rada, Kenny Storms, Ben Meyer Reimer, and Erin Rollman. Thanks to Buntport Theater for generously providing us a space to perform.

Past Events

Everything 'Pity+fear'