Darling
A manilla envelope containing three cassette tapes and one journal from 1976 will unravel the entirety of MA student Erin Zeigler’s thesis before her panel dissertation. The story of a woman and her gynecologist lover leaves Erin with a burning question she cannot get out of her mind, even in her dreams: Who is “Darling”?.
Darling is based on the diary and tapes that represent an archive of the life of a woman, living in Cambridge in the 1970s. The artists animating this archive all live and work in the Region of Waterloo, and are passionate about this local story. Jenn Addesso, the writer performer, is determined to find an ethical and impactful way to reveal the life of this Cambridge woman, and in so doing, find resonance with her story in the present.Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
“I was secure once again, for the first time in a while of the deep love I feel for him and even deeper sadness that goes with it because it’s a love in a dimension that is so foreign and lonely to me.”
— Darling, 1976
Our Approach to The Work
Through the use of various media (sound, video, performance, and interactive pedagogical technology), Darling will examine the archive of a woman from the past known only as “Darling.” In this process, the materials of the past (the diary and cassettes) will be considered concerning their resonance and relevance to the present.
One young woman who has discovered this archive will ponder their relationship to what it reveals about the role of professional women in society, gender norms, relationships of power – then and now – and the promise of love in a transgressive relationship.
We hope to inspire questions about relationships and desire and whether it is possible to be completely satisfied with the path one’s life has taken, incorporating input from the audience – using interactive teaching technology – along the way.
Our approach to a multi-media experience of Darling’s ‘archive’ will be immersive; that is, the ‘bones’ of her history will be ‘fleshed out’ through various forms of re-enactment, and with the help of audience input, we will collaboratively consider what we think we know about this woman and the life she chose to live.
VIEW PROGRAM
