The Life of By Herself.pdf

The Life of By Herself.pdf is a swirling, time-bending, hybrid theatrical piece devised from a ten chapter segment of the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. Through examining St. Teresa’s life through a queered lens, and by intertwining her autobiography with my own, the piece examines the intersections of queerness, Catholicism, and eroticism. How does the Church shape views on the physical body, especially for those with queered impulses? Does love in its purest form always involve pain for the lover? Are some of us born bad? The Life of By Herself.pdf uses contact improvisation, song, screens, and music by The Books as means of answering these questions.

The first draft of The Life of By Herself.pdf was produced by the Experimental Theater Wing in December 2024.

The second draft was presented in Emerging Artists Theater’s Spark Theater Festival at the Chain Theater.