Artist Statements

I could not have imagined 25 years ago that Double Edge Theatre would still be valid, or even alive, in another generation. This awesome personal reality should bring with it a certain satisfaction, if not joy. Yet I find myself struggling to accept this joy, and certainly unable to be satisfied. Like many of the characters in my performances, I am faced with an incomprehensible reality, one in which people would rather shoot than talk, imprison victims rather than heal them, and one which replaces the human potential with a catatonic isolation and ignorance. 

I have spent my career dedicated to the investigation of this human potential. I have pushed myself, my ensemble, and hopefully my audience, to go to the ends of ourselves to uncover all of the vast  possibilities of our hearts, minds, and souls. We work physically, vocally, and imaginatively to break all boundaries that exist, in ourselves, and with our audience. Throughout the world of our work, which has taken place primarily in the US, Central Europe, and South America, we have attempted to create an intense dialogue between cultures, and between individuals. 

This dialogue was never verbal. This dialogue was never rational. This dialogue was never about form. This was always an artistic dialogue, one that could and would use any means, whether it be movement, song, object, or image, to tell the story of the human being. This story, although complex, dark, and incomprehensible, is certainly one of hope. I have witnessed this hope in the eyes of my collaborators and my audience, from strangers in Central Europe who dared to move beyond their sometimes nationalistic beliefs and embrace the variety of individuals that compose our theatre, to young people in Ashfield who abandoned their daily despair in the face of the creative act of performance.