Your Brain, Onstage

There’s a series of performances in New York this month that give new meaning to the expression “theater of the mind.”

NEUROfest is the first-ever theater festival dedicated to neurological conditions. Produced by the Untitled Theater Company #61, performances are running through January 29.

A collection of theater artists from around the country will present work inspired by various neurological conditions, including:
•Amnesia (Korsakov's Syndrome)
•Aphasia
•Autism
•Capgras Syndrome
•Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
•Dementia
•Meniere’s Disease
•Synesthesia
•Tourette’s Syndrome

In conjunction with the performances, NEUROfest will also host a series of seminars/panel discussions with noted experts.

The festival line-up comprises a diverse selection of contemporary theatrical forms:

•Edgy, solo performance in noted Downtown artist Kirk Wood Bromley’s Syndrome
•Multimedia by real-life neurologist James Jordan in CJD
•Puppetry/object manipulation in The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Robot
•A family musical with Welcome to Tourettaville! (co-written by a 7 year-old with Tourette’s Syndrome)
•A short monologue in The Taste of Blue, set in the realm of the senses
•A full-length opera/theater piece in Tabula Rasa
•An exploration of found texts in Doctors Jane and Alexander
•The Pinter-esque puzzlings of Strangers
•An examination of communication in Linguish, when language isn't an option
•A love story about two men, music, and vertigo in Vestibular
•A family drama about delusion and doppelgangers in Impostors

When I first learned about NEUROfest I thought two things:
1) This is the coolest thing I have ever heard of
2) Can I convince Dave to let me go to New York?

I don’t typically do much promotion on this blog -- that will change once my book is done! -- but I was so enthralled by what these folks are doing that I had to share it with others who might be interested.

As of now, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to go; but if that changes, I’ll report back here with my reviews. If anyone else attends a show, I hope you’ll post your experience here.