SPORK! Contributor Sarah Bowden brings her biographical (and autobiographical) spoken word masterpiece to Chicago stages again, as part of the 2020 Rhinofest.
I was born a stutterer, from a long line of family with a variety of speech “impediments”. Talk to a group of us at a family reunion and you too, will leave as a stutterer. My father, who stutters, had the foresight to insist that I attend speech therapy sessions. Twice a week, for nine years, I slipped out of class to sit for 30 minutes in a room a little larger than a broom closet, and practiced phonetic sounds in front of a mirror.
School was a horrendous experience. Teachers were hesitant to call on me, kids would constantly laugh and tease me. My parents, as parents were back then, were very practical. They had little patience for you feeling “sorry” for yourself. My dad often told me that life was seldom fair- in fact, fair has no real definition. And my mom, always to the point, told me to learn to deal with the cards I was dealt.
The play presents the scenario without comment, which can be infuriating from an audience perspective. To know something is amiss about these relationships, but finding validation nowhere can feel like gaslighting. However, directors Mary Kate Ashe and Aaron Sawyer pick up on the subtle creeping horror of modern heteronormativity and family bonds by employing two modes of communication and double casting.
I have tried to ease the sometimes confusing and daunting rules and regulations when traveling to Hawaii with one’s service dog. Hawaii has been, and continues to be very strict when allowing service dogs, and all pets, to travel to our islands as Hawaii does not have rabies and ticks that can cause Lyme disease. Understandably, the state wants to keep it that way!! Accordingly, there are several steps one must take well in advance when traveling to Paradise with their service animals. There are a few interrelated steps, so you may read a few points a couple times.
It’s an unfortunate reality, but having a physical or mental disability puts you at a financial disadvantage for the future. While there are some programs that provide aid to those who are differently-abled, like Medicare plans for individuals under 65 who receive Social Security disability benefits, they don’t cover every expense, and you aren’t able to receive assistance immediately. Fortunately, there are ways to plan for tomorrow, but you have to be willing to start today.
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS TO A QUIET PLACE
Krasinski and his crew put a special emphasis on sound in A Quiet Place, working to capture the natural rush of waving corn stalks and the beat of strategic steps on soft earth. But the director plays with his audience as well, planting us in Regan’s perspective mere minutes into the film. As the family treks home from the pharmacy, the soundtrack drops out, leaving behind only a microphone hum, and we experience Regan’s hearing loss for ourselves. It is peaceful. We are reoriented to the visual cues surrounding her, to the attention she gives her parents, to the beauty of the rural landscape. But we also see a danger she did not anticipate, simply because it is happening behind her back.
Art therapy is a soothing and effective form of treatment because individuals are able to use creativity and imagination to express themselves. The central focus of Art Therapy is to expand forms of communication to better see experiences in a different light.
This type of therapy is especially helpful for people who have had traumatic psychological issues and after art therapy they can look back on a situation from a different perspective that provides empowerment and optimism.
Performers in this production learned clowning fundamentals, sign language, and in many cases they acted as interpreters for their stage counterparts. The commitment to inclusion for performers and audience members of all abilities is groundbreaking for Chicago, and inspiring to be a part of, even if it’s just to learn the symbol for ‘alone’ (an index finger held at chest level) or being asked by a woodland mutant to hold onto their signed letter ‘G’ as they distribute Red’s love letters.
A cohesive treatment plan would likely combine a variety of common elements beginning with detoxification, which gives patients a chance to isolate symptoms of the drug or alcohol addiction from the symptoms of mental illness. Inpatient rehabilitation, psychotherapy, medications, self-help, and support groups can also be vital parts of a recovery process that distinctly addresses both substance abuse and mental health.
The challenge for me, and many others with a dual diagnosis of addiction and mental illness, is that no program of recovery can treat mental illness. Recovery literature states that sometimes we need outside help—referring to medical experts. Difficulties arise when that literature is misinterpreted and those people see depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness as a feature of addiction that can be treated solely with a program of recovery. Contrary to that belief, medical illness cannot be treated with a spiritual solution. It is paramount that people who suffer with mental illness seek treatment from a trained medical professional.