When the Mind's Free

When the Mind’s Free is a 90-minute original dance-theatre production that has been devised and developed over a four-year period of improvisation and in conversation with Shakespeare’s King Lear, as well as in consultation with memory care organizations, caretakers, families, and individuals dealing with memory loss. When the Mind’s Free centers the experience of a lesbian couple and their family dealing with the impacts of dementia and addiction. The production has been created to perform in formal theatres, as well as in less-formal venues, such as senior housing, senior centers, and other health care and community facilities. Each performance will be followed by a community conversation, designed to call forth the lived experiences of audience members impacted by dementia and/or addiction, particularly family members and caregivers. When the Mind's Free brings together a cast and crew of extraordinary artists, many local from Western Massachusetts, and others hailing from New York City, Ithaca NY, Cleveland OH, and Copenhagen Denmark. Our premiere performance will be July 25-August 4 in Turners Falls MA, and we will tour to CSU September 13 & 14.