When I think of a living room, I think of a

Living

Room

I think of its resonances

How it beckons me in – or not

How it makes me feel.

A living room is the sum of its parts

It is where we come to be with

Ourselves

Others

It is where we come to listen

to share stories

Where we are part of something

Maybe uncomfortably so

 

When I think of violence, I think of its nuances

The violence of absence

Of stillness

Of a sudden movement

An exclamation

Or a harsh “Shoosh!”

 

When I think of these things I think how these elements are also part of the skill and craft of theatre. Artists create the room for voices to be heard not just in words but in how a space is arranged. How it is attuned. How it greets you. What is present and what is not. Artists draw attention to whose voice is present, whose is quietly missing, and whose is gagged but raging loudly.

This is what Michelle does as she so deftly articulates the architecture of space to vibrate with bodies in place in ways that are at once transformative, compelling, and unsettling. And I can’t wait to see what she does with her new home.

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Text in response to The Living Room Theatre for The Living Room Theatre Fundraiser 21
June 2025