[NEohioPAL]Hilarious and Heartbreaking- NO NEWS - a performance by David Pratt

[The Pratts]

***LAST NIGHT***

No News: Covering and uncovering ordinary miracles


Where:
The Cleveland Black Box Theater
(located inside Cabaret Dada)
1210 W. 6th
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 696-4242

When:
Thursday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m.

Cost: $5 (Tickets available at shows.)

 Fusing myth, pop culture and personal narrative, David Pratt presents
an entertaining and thought-provoking evening of poetry, songs and
story-telling. Part news show, part performance art and part exploration
in self-understanding, “no news” moves from the hilariously ridiculous
to the heartbreakingly sad.

"On December 18, 2001, my wife, Christy, gave birth to our second
daughter, Isabella Virginia Pratt. Our little girl had a very rare form
of dwarfism called Thanatophoric Dysplasia. The word “thanatophoric” is
derived from Greek and translates roughly as “death seeking” or “moving
towards death.” It is always a terminal condition, marked by serious
underdevelopment of the lungs. These babies simply cannot process enough
air to survive outside the womb.
 Isabella lived one incredibly short and long day, most of which I spent
sitting beside her, just being with her and touching her little body.
 Much of my grieving came out in my writing, which is perhaps a book in
itself spanning the following year. Some of what I wrote during that
time is this performance called “no news.”
 The piece doesn’t obviously begin with Isabella. It actually starts
with quite a playful dialogue between myself as an anchorman and myself
as a reporter. As the performance progresses I approach the root of
where the writing is all coming from and talk candidly about our
daughter.
 I suppose the whole thing is an exploration of these strange and
ordinary things we call living and dying. The anchor and reporter banter
about the illusion of a separate self. As the words grow, the audience
receives reports about different versions of heaven from cultures around
the globe.
 Ridiculous commercials and movie promotions are mixed in- usually
dancing around the truth that there is no such thing as separation and
the confusion this causes with language.
 At times, I play myself, or am myself. I get to sing, wander, hop
around, tell stories and recite poetry. For me, all performances I do
are exercises in self-understanding. I hope people don’t think I’m
trying to make a big statement or convince anyone of anything. I just
want to let this out and play and probably find out how much I’m still
grieving and still joyously grateful for this opportunity to live here
for a short while on earth." - D.P.