When a young widow succumbs to her darkest demons, she attempts to manifest a more animalistic version of herself to shield her from her disturbing reality.
Do you think people can change who they are, to totally reinvent themselves?
I think that our life experiences shape and change us as our lives go on, and that what happens to us does inherently change our perspective on life and thus, who we are. That being said, I also think that we are who we are! It’s definitely a tough question that makes me think really hard about whether or not someone can initiate change so consciously, but I do think that both can be true.
How was your piece inspired by Chekhov’s ‘The Bear’ and how has the relationship between the two pieces changed over time?
The minute I read ‘The Bear’, I knew I had to adapt it in some way! I am continually inspired by its depictions of one woman’s struggle with guardedness, desire, hatred, and passion. I fell in love with Popova, the widow and her internal batter to preserve herself while her inner ‘beast’ claws to get out. My character BearGirl is an exaggeration of the emotions Popova feels with a modern twist. Through all the drafts I have written, the connection between the trope of the widow and my character of BearGirl is what remains the same. The version I am bringing to this year’s Fringe takes a lot of liberties but is still wholly inspired by the core question: can one fully shut off their primal needs?
Having lived in both America and Scotland, what differences have you seen in attitudes towards grief and death between the two?
Obviously, everyone experiences grief differently, but one difference I’ve noticed is that in America people often seem more encouraged to openly express grief and talk about emotions directly, whereas in Scotland there can sometimes be more reservedness. I’ve found that in Scotland, people are more likely to show feelings through humour and quiet presence rather than overt emotional expression. At the same time, both cultures value community and support during difficult times; they just sometimes communicate it differently. I think that since I moved to Scotland in 2021, I have learned to embrace the humour in difficult situations a lot more!
What are your own attitudes towards them; how have they changed?
As someone very lucky not to have experienced a whole lot of grief just yet, the idea of it happening terrifies me. I have also always had a combination of an insane fear crossed with a gross fascination of death: it shows up in my writing quite a lot. While the thought of loss still saddens me even just to think about, I think writing about it is one way I feed my fascination with the topic while observing it from what feels like a distance.
How much do you think we should all be learning from the animal world?
I think we could all learn a lesson or two from animals about trusting our bodies. For animals, there is no ‘should I’ or ‘should I not’ when you don’t feel good: you either do, or you don’t. I personally spend a lot of time convincing myself of what I ‘should’ do, even if I need a break. But then, I look over at my dog Winston, who has no problem sleeping for 20 hours a day if he feels like he needs to do that. This is a world that is obsessed with the hustle, myself included. We think we thrive on grinding and pushing, and put a lot of weight into productivity. But in between those moments, let’s not overthink taking a break!
Will we ever escape our primal instincts? Is there such a thing as human nature?
That’s the question I’m asking here, too! I feel like I could write a whole essay just of me contemplating this subject, but if I were to completely boil it down: I think there are some instincts that we cannot outrun, even if we really want to. That being said, our impulses change throughout our lives and we build tolerances to things as we experience more of life. And yes, there is such a thing as human nature. It’s what I feel explains the unexplainable! Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure if anything will happen, but in my own experience, our instincts are often there to protect us, and I think that is worth listening to.