Director Allison Holtkamp teamed up with Juneau artists and performers for a new production that premieres at Perseverance Theater on Saturday.
The production is called “SAME: Local Stories of Gender-Based Violence.”
“The way that I have conversations with people, instead of saying ‘Me too,’ sometimes I’ll say ‘Same.’” Holtkamp explained.
She says the idea of the show happened out of conversations with her friends and colleagues who were angry that stories about gender-based violence weren’t being heard.
The show isn’t based on a script, like a play. There are 10 stories that will be 6-7 minutes each.
“If people are familiar with Mudrooms, it’s a lot like that. What makes it a little bit different than Mudrooms is every story is directed. So they’ll be prepared pieces, everyone will come in with a prepared piece. Some of them will be memorized, some of them will be read, some of them are poetry, some of them have theatrical elements,” Holtkamp said.
She says the staff at AWARE, a local shelter and support center for survivors of gender-based violence, helped guide her through one of the most important parts of the process – coming up with a good title.
“It was going to be called Bloodrooms…they [AWARE] steered me a little bit away from the scarier name, for a few different reasons, because it’s kinda scary subject matter to begin with, and also I wanted people to attend,” she said.
Actor Doniece Gott will read her own story as part of the performance. Gott is an experienced actor, but this project is different.
“I am excited, I’m scared, I hope I can get through it without crying, and I hope that I can reach someone in the audience to help them have that feeling of same, or that feeling of solidarity, then maybe healing,” Gott said.
Visual artist Christine Carpenter will also share her own story on Saturday. In addition, her artwork based on diary entries she wrote about her own experiences will be on display in the theater.
“I took those and used them as a way to share my story and a way to heal and a way to visually communicate my internal pain that I was feeling, and my internal healing process.”
The team has worked hard to make both the audience and performers feel safe as these real life experiences are shared on stage. Including making a representative from AWARE available to anyone who needs support immediately.
Ultimately Holtkamp wants the audience and performers to experience catharsis, hope, and a sense of togetherness by the end of show.
“Live theater…it is a lot like church. There’s so much healing that can come in live performance.”
See images of Christine Carpenter’s work here.
“SAME: Local Stories of Gender-Based Violence” premieres this Saturday evening, September 22, 7:30pm on the Main Stage at Perseverance Theater. All proceeds from admission will benefit AWARE.
Correction: In an earlier version of this story, we indicated incorrectly that AWARE co-produced this show. AWARE services are completely confidential and they do not share any information with outside sources. They offered advice to the director about trauma informed practices and strategies to address secondary trauma, and support to the performers and audience members.
Hear Juneau actor and AWARE Equity Coordinator Austin Tagaban perform the anonymously submitted story “Consent” from “Same.”
Listener warning: this audio clip contains explicit language and descriptions of sexual assault.
This version has been edited for explicit language, but does contain descriptions of sexual assault.
