With only a few more weeks left of our Emerging Artist Exhibition, I thought it’d be a good share my Directors Note from the production! If you’ve already experienced either the live performance of the interactive exhibit in the Gallery at Creative Pinellas, this will give you deeper dive into my thoughts on the themes of the piece:
On the surface, Morgan’s story seems like many we’ve heard: a son angry at his absent father. For me, having a life journey that was very similar to Morgan’s it was more than my anger, or sadness, frustration or feeling of abandonment. 61 UNUSED PAGES navigates the journey of conflict, discovery and healing. Regardless of the circumstances in any parent’s story, two things remain constant: 1. They are doing the best they can with where they are in their lives and 2. Outside of being parents they are human with their own journey of healing.
Working on this piece, forced me to re-examine my own relationship with my father, and wonder just how much of what I remembered through the eyes of young Patrick was true and which parts were missing simply because I didn’t have all the details. What you will experience tonight is Morgan wrestling with his past, as it collides with his present and nudges him into a future of healing and wholeness.
Feelings, aren’t ever bad…they simply are a guide to where we need to heal. When we feel, we deal with our issues and heal so we can move forward. This show is dedicated to all those sons and fathers who are yearning to allow the tears to flow, the feelings to come, but question whether they can handle the truth that their healing may reveal.
-PAJ
