‘ A Little Bit of Death’ comes to Edgerton Park
LIVE SHOW IS A LOT ABOUT GRIEVING BUT IT’S ALSO LIFE- AFFIRMING, SAYS PLAYWRIGHT
When Hartford- based poet Zulynette inaugurated her annual storytelling show “A Little Bit of Death,” she admits that the show raised friends’ and colleagues’ eyebrows uniformly.
“When I first started, it was ‘ A Little Bit of Death’? You sure that’s what you really want to call the show?’” said Zulynette.
As Zulynette and her fellow artists prepare for the fifth edition of “A Little Bit of Death” happening live at 7 p. m. Friday, Nov. 13, and 4 and 7 p. m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Edgerton Park, audiences have come to embrace the concept rather than shy away from it.
Hope Chavéz, artistic director of Long Wharf Theatre, who is producing the performances as part of the theater’s “One City, Many Stages” season, said that although the theme and the artists’ verbal and visual musings are heavy and contemplative, the experience is a life- affirming one.
“In our culture, we’re very shy about talking ( death),” said Chavéz said, adding that Zulynette was atop the list of desirable artists to fold into the theater’s current season even before scuttling its pre- pandemic slate. “There’s a lot of discomfort around it.
“So in a normal year, this is really an invitation to explore the tension of it very carefully through community,” said Chavéz. “This year, of course, many people are experiencing literal death of COVID, from police violence and anti- black racism.
“I’m excited about the healing, the transformation that this piece — these stories — tries to bring,” she said. “So heavy, yes, but done thoughtfully and with great care.”
“It’s about community,” said Zulynette. “It’s really about healing. It’s absolutely about grieving. We grieve all the time, whether it’s our identity, our sense of safety — that certainly went out the window this year.”
Zulynette, who drew the title from Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ book “Women Who Roam With The Wolves,” explained her affinity for “A Little Bit of Death.”
“It’s broad enough, and I allow the freedom of the storytellers coming in and sharing their stories in a way that is, I don’t want to say ‘ natural,’ but most comfortable for them and what makes the most sense for them and their stories,” she said.
The performers, all Hartfordbased and identify as BIPOC ( Black, Indigenous and People of Color ), include Ebonie “The Lifestyle Do ula” Goulbourne, who uses such techniques as yoga and meditation to inspire confidence and moisten the soul. Masem, originally from Cameroon West Africa, is a dancer and storyteller.
Andrew Dean Wright is a poet, digital artist and photographer. Jas LaFond is a mental health worker, drag performer and cohost and co- writer of the “Witcheverpath” podcast. Diana Aldrete, a Visiting Professor of Hispanic Studies at Trinity College, is an abstract painter, writer, and musician.
Zulynette a Chicago native who was raised in Hartford, identifies as a multi- hyphenate queer, Puerto Rican and social worker who uses art and poetry as her transformation tools. Though she has performed in previous editions of “A Little Bit of Death,” she’s standing a bit back from reading her own set of poetry and will instead serve as emcee.
“The way it started back in 2015, it was in at community center in New Britain,” said Zulynette about the evolution of the series. “They gave it to me for free only because it was so underutilized and not well kept up.
“I invited my two best friends because both of them are writers,” said the poet- cum- activist. “I was like, I have this wild idea that I want to base a show around death. And showcase artwork around that theme of death. And if there’s something you all want to share, yeah! This is my invitation.”
Zulynette certainly took herself up on her generous offer to her colleagues by performing her own raw, persona poetry that first year.
“I hadn’t spoken out loud about my own suicidal ideation, so I took the leap of faith,” she said.
Afterward, Zulynette was overwhelmed by the audience’s enthusiastically positive response that validated her poetry and the event’s purpose.
Since that initial performance in 2015, “A Little Bit of Death,” grants Zulynette renewed opportunity “to explore and lean into this theme as something that can be transformational and, at least in this nation, very culturally shocking. Or it can be.”
Zulynette said that any pressure building from one year to the next has little to do with the show’s aesthetic.
“What evolves with me, personally, is just a trust with the entire process,” she said. “I trust the storytellers to dig deep and to give it their best. I don’t micromanage what they do or how they manage their work. And I think that’s a beautiful, radical thing to do.
“I think if I feel any pressure, it’s how do I best serve?” Zulynette said. “So for this year, for example, with what happened with COVID and actual, literal death happening so much around us, how can I best serve the community with very real needs around grieving, around pain, around loss.”
More immediately at hand are real, practical challenges of performing in Edgerton Park on a chilly autumn late afternoon or early evening.
“Being outside presents a new set of challenges,” said Zulynette, adding that the performances can be postponed should Mother Nature not cooperate. “Can we put up artwork if it’s going to rain? What if the winds blows it down?”
Of the many things “A Little Bit of Death” is, it is not a commodity taken to market, Zulynette said. To some extent, this explains why “A Little Bit of Death” happens live and in- person as opposed to live- streamed.
“Part of me agrees with that,” said Zulynette, adding that the show has never been livestreamed before. “The show is not for consumption. This isn’t a YouTube video. It’s a grieving space for people. This doesn’t lend itself to consumerism.”
Zulynette went on to say that it’s a question of respect for the performers’ privacy as well as the audience.
“I’ve always wanted the show to be an intimate space,” she said. “That primitive storytelling ( tradition of) gathering of people, is precisely why this show doesn’t get recorded.
Having said this, Zulynette nonetheless is compelled to considering recording performances in the future.
“Only because I’m understanding that I have my own biases and privileges being somebody that is able- bodied, someone that is here,” she said.
“To make it accessible to those who can’t come to the show,” Zulynette said. “I want to challenge myself on that.”