About "The Death Monologues"
Scientific studies have proven that 100% of human beings that are born (and even some that are not born) will have to face death one day or another. And yet, we live in a death phobic society. Quite a dilemma, wouldn't you say? Solution you ask?... THE DEATH MONOLOGUES!
The Death Monologues is a unique theatrical experience that dives right into life's greatest taboo, death and dying. Written and performed by Giselle Suarez and directed by Cathy Hartenstein, The Death Monologues promises to shed a very different light on a commonly dark subject, a subject that permeates the life of every single human being and yet is rarely approached, and even more rare, approached in this way!
Death, tired of getting a bad rap, has come to tell her side of the story and set the record straight. She takes us on a journey through compelling life-inspired stories, and twists of fate . Throughout the piece, we hear many sides of the story and learn that Death is not what we think it is. We become privy to Death’s truth, including such secrets as, "You are born with your death woven into the fabric of your lives. We are not separate. I am your destiny."
This brave exploration of internal and external experiences about facing death will allow us to embrace our lives more fully and free us from the fear.
The Death Monologues is a unique theatrical experience that dives right into life's greatest taboo, death and dying. Written and performed by Giselle Suarez and directed by Cathy Hartenstein, The Death Monologues promises to shed a very different light on a commonly dark subject, a subject that permeates the life of every single human being and yet is rarely approached, and even more rare, approached in this way!
Death, tired of getting a bad rap, has come to tell her side of the story and set the record straight. She takes us on a journey through compelling life-inspired stories, and twists of fate . Throughout the piece, we hear many sides of the story and learn that Death is not what we think it is. We become privy to Death’s truth, including such secrets as, "You are born with your death woven into the fabric of your lives. We are not separate. I am your destiny."
This brave exploration of internal and external experiences about facing death will allow us to embrace our lives more fully and free us from the fear.
About Giselle Suarez
In 1995, my Cuban-American heart led me to the Netherlands, where my lifelong dream of acting and performing came true. I spent over a decade playing, directing and teaching in the European professional theater circuit. In 2009, my heart led me back to the US, to be with my mother who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. I spent nine months with her assisting her on her death journey. This experience changed my life drastically and I became fascinated by the 'miracle' of death. It has become one of my passions to help shift the consciousness of death in our culture. And this is what inspired the creation of THE DEATH MONOLOGUES, which unites my two arbitrary passions, death and theater.
I graduated from the Royal Theatre Arts Academy in Utrecht, NL, with experience in theater making and acting. From there, I went on to perform in classic and my own original works, throughout the European professional theatre circuit, including the Dutch National Theatre, The Hague, The Rotterdam Schouwburg, De Balie & Gasthuis, Amsterdam, KVS/Bottelarij, Brussels, NEXT International Arts Festival, Kortrijk, The Schauspielhaus,Vienna, Theatre Intensive, Dartington and a site specific performance in Marseille with Jean-Michel Bruyere. Later, together with my husband Jorrit, we formed and were the artistic directors of MOMENTA, a non-profit organization based in the Netherlands, which completed several theatre projects, including staging the poetry of K'iche' poet, Humberto Ak'abal, and a modern staging of the RABINAL ACHI, in Central America, both productions working with the young Mayan population.
I moved back to the US and went on to study shamanism and ancient rites of passage and ceremony with a focus on death and dying consciously. After the death of my mother, Betty, I became very involved with death, working with and assisting others in many different ways such as hospice work, end of life and grief counseling, ceremony and of course, the creation of The Death Monologues, a life's work.
I graduated from the Royal Theatre Arts Academy in Utrecht, NL, with experience in theater making and acting. From there, I went on to perform in classic and my own original works, throughout the European professional theatre circuit, including the Dutch National Theatre, The Hague, The Rotterdam Schouwburg, De Balie & Gasthuis, Amsterdam, KVS/Bottelarij, Brussels, NEXT International Arts Festival, Kortrijk, The Schauspielhaus,Vienna, Theatre Intensive, Dartington and a site specific performance in Marseille with Jean-Michel Bruyere. Later, together with my husband Jorrit, we formed and were the artistic directors of MOMENTA, a non-profit organization based in the Netherlands, which completed several theatre projects, including staging the poetry of K'iche' poet, Humberto Ak'abal, and a modern staging of the RABINAL ACHI, in Central America, both productions working with the young Mayan population.
I moved back to the US and went on to study shamanism and ancient rites of passage and ceremony with a focus on death and dying consciously. After the death of my mother, Betty, I became very involved with death, working with and assisting others in many different ways such as hospice work, end of life and grief counseling, ceremony and of course, the creation of The Death Monologues, a life's work.
About Cathy Hartenstein
Cathy Hartenstein has directed and worked at theatres all across the nation including The Cleveland Play House, The Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Wellfleet Harbor’s Actor’s Theatre, Austin Theatre Company. St. Louis Shakespeare Company, and the New York City Fringe Festival. Representative credits include: HUCK FINN, CHECKOV IN YALTA, FOOL FOR LOVE , THE PERSEPHONE PROJECT, HANG TOWN FRY, BOOT ARIAS, THE BABU SHOW, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, DARK RAPTURE, and OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD. Assistant Directing PICK UP AX, UNCOMMON GROUND , PIRATE’S LULLABY, THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH, DOWN THE SHORE, DEEP IN A DREAM OF, DINNER WITH FRIENDS.
She served as Education Director at the Cleveland Play House. She has taught as several Universities including: University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, DeSales University, Southwestern University, and University of Texas at Austin. She holds an M.F.A in Directing from the University of Texas,
She served as Education Director at the Cleveland Play House. She has taught as several Universities including: University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, DeSales University, Southwestern University, and University of Texas at Austin. She holds an M.F.A in Directing from the University of Texas,