T H E S P I S
8th INTERNATIONAL MONODRAMA FESTIVAL
DUST TO DUST
Performed, written and directed by ELIZABETH HESS
New York is filled with many outsiders, who like Elizabeth Hess, have sought refuge there for personal and/or political reasons. It was her neighbor’s story of escape from war-torn Bosnia that became the basis for DUST TO DUST. The play transforms the systematic rape of women into a silent cry played out on inner lives.
There are two protagonists: Outsider (the refugee) and Everywoman (traumatized rape victim). The recognition of their unspoken bond allows the Outsider to eventually identify with the Everywoman. That heart-felt identification transcends the idea of shared humanity – as the Outsider undergoes her soul’s own journey, she arrives at a place of shared sorrow where reparation and return to oneness is possible.
“DUST TO DUST is written in a heightened language that matches the phantasmagoric subject matter. Impressionistic, emotionally raw, and incredibly real, it also allows the audience room to breathe, while they absorb the horror and beauty that envelope its twin protagonists” (Cheryl King, Stage Left Studio)
Hess performed at THESPIS in 2003 and received the Audience Award for her solo piece BIRTH RITE: SEX, DRUGS & A RESTLESS SOUL. DUST TO DUST was presented at this year's Women Playwrights International Conference in Stockholm.
USA
ELIZABETH HESS
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DUST TO DUST
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Friday | November 16th | 7 p.m.
Schauspielhaus (Studio)
Running time: 40 minutes
Language: English
German premiere
Director Elizabeth Hess
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Supported by the U.S. Consulate General, Hamburg
© Photo: Stephanie Warren
