ABOUT THE WORK: 

As if everything was perfect, confronts the pressure women carry and the constant negotiation between compassion and guilt.

A character-driven embodiment of a woman’s internalized sense of responsibility, As if everything was perfect centers women’s oscillation between having compassion for past, current, and future versions of themselves and extreme guilt. Humor, surreal imagery, and sharp physicality move through memories, fantasies, imagined futures, colliding with the push and pull of expectation: too much, too little, too early, too late. Brooms function as both metaphor and partner, unearthing domestic labor, discipline, and the weight of responsibility. Joy and despair sit side by side as this performance work, scored by Shio Tepper, lingers in contradiction, complexity, and the many shades of gray, inviting audiences into a layered emotional landscape.

As if everything was perfect was developed, in part, during a Baryshnikov Arts Center Residency.

Support for the development and presentation of this work is provided in part through the James and Martha Duffy Fund.