Aura
"An exploration of epilepsy expressed through the movement of circus arts."
There’s a side of diseases and illnesses that the public seldom sees. Performed at The Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, this production was created to promote awareness about epilepsy and to raise money for research, while also exposing a more personal side of the impact that epilepsy has on those who are affected by it. Audience members were taken through the pain, hardship and strength that is involved in the experience of having life interrupted unexpectedly by seizures and the confusion and frustration that follows.
Aura
This is the warning. A feeling that pushes and pulls at the corners of the mind and body before fluttering away. It comes in the form of scents, visual augmentations and waves of physical sensations.
Electricity
A flurry of disorganized activity. Electricity surges between brain cells, neurons firing off with no control. The source of this abnormal electrical activity is not always known, creating what can seem like an unsolvable mystery. This disruption of normal activity is much like a short-fuse of the brain, a burst of energy and then -
Lost
Dazed and disoriented, it’s the feeling of waking up in an unrecognizable room. Surroundings and thoughts are unfamiliar. What was once everyday and mundane is now a first time experience. The hands that carried out daily, subconscious acts are now rediscovered instruments, as if seen for the first time.
Frustration
The inability to recall simple things such as words, faces and names creates a frustration that builds up over time. It is the sadness of forgetting conversations and special moments that would forever be lost if not brought up by those who can remember. There is an ache that comes from within, a yearning to remember but not being able to.
Resilience
Through the initial confusion of the postictal state there is a light, an ability to bounce back. The errors that are produced while recovering are not failures but opportunities to develop strength. We learn to let go of the problems that don’t really matter and to always look on the bright side of life.
Fibers
Over time things come back together. Words are easily recalled, faces are recognized, names are remembered. Like many things this takes time and patience. The torn fabrics of one’s memory can be repaired, slowly patched back together. And eventually, things will seem right.