January 2022At Sharon Gardens Cemetery, Valhalla, NY:
Concept, Curation, Design: Gilian Rappaport Drawing: Adam Rappaport Editing: Hilary Rappaport, Donald Rappaport Audio Recording By: Gilian Rappaport, Hilary Rappaport, Donald Rappaport Participants: Don Rappaport, Doug Chyhai, Joel Barnett Singer, Anne Loranger, Violet Baxter-Leff, Eric Rosenbaum, Stephanie Spiegel, Robert Ebert, Roberta A. Hantman, Rita and Herb Kleinman, Richard Mast, Susan Rosenbaum, Nina Itzkovitz, Chis and Diane Manley, Ellen Kaidanow, Michele Benas, Mara Leff, Coco Lefkowitz, Cheryl Liebling, Ruthie A. Sobie, Ilene Ehrlich, Ricky Rakoff, Beverly Ort, Meryl Gold, Viki Karpf, Madeline Brisman, Laura Fackler, Elaine Finsilver, Jennifer Selby, Jake Kleinman, Geri Rubenstein, Gilian Rappaport, Liz Gali, Tom and Barbara Kornreich, Nancy and Jack DeRosa, Dolores Antonetz, Pamela Mattes, Jodi Bodell Scelfo, Hilary Rappaport, Don Rappaport
Speak From The Heart, Cassie 2022
Speak From The Heart, Cassie 2022 is a collaborative, site-specific performance initiated by Gilian on the occasion of her deceased mother's Unveiling at her gravesite. An unveiling is a Jewish tradition involving gathering at the gravesite to place the tomb marker one year after the funeral. Nostalgic and sweet, it depicts the personal accounts of her mother's community, spanning friends, family members, and colleagues, reflecting on their memories and experiences with grief over the year since she passed. The piece was read at the graveside by Gilian, her sister Hilary, and her father Donald, for an in-person audience of participants.
Investigating a whole community's journey with terminal cancer and grief during the COVID-19 pandemic, Speak From The Heart, Cassie 2022 shines a light on the healing art of shared grieving practice. Drawn from submissions from over 40 people whose lives were intertwined with Cassie, GIlian continues her research into collaborative narrative building and performance by asking questions, provoking the imagination, and weaving together stories that encapsulate a feeling of togetherness through hardship.
