Three artists, Three days, One big question.
A work-in-progress performance of
AM I HAPPY YET?
… an exploration of the pathologising and medicalisation of sadness in Western society.
Playwright Rebecca Lister, visual artist Sarah Lloyd & performer Joanne Davis are hothoused for three days of collaboration.
They emerge with an hour long showing of Am I Happy Yet?
Writer - Rebecca Lister
Performer - Joanne Davis
Visual Artist - Sarah Lloyd
Performed - art HALL, Learmonth
Presented by Yarowee Productions & City of Ballarat
A work-in-progress performance of
AM I HAPPY YET?
… an exploration of the pathologising and medicalisation of sadness in Western society.
Playwright Rebecca Lister, visual artist Sarah Lloyd & performer Joanne Davis are hothoused for three days of collaboration.
They emerge with an hour long showing of Am I Happy Yet?
Writer - Rebecca Lister
Performer - Joanne Davis
Visual Artist - Sarah Lloyd
Performed - art HALL, Learmonth
Presented by Yarowee Productions & City of Ballarat
.... the number of patients diagnosed with depression has doubled over the last 30 years, without any great change in diagnostic criteria. But this simply raises another question: Are doctors more aggressive in diagnosing depression, or are they simply diagnosing "everyday unhappiness" as a variant of depression and reporting it as such?
- The Medicalisation of Unhappiness by Ronald W Dworkin.
We ask :-
Why the intolerance of sadness or grief?
Why the rush to happiness?
Why the developing obsession within the medical industry to diagnose unhappiness as a mental health condition?
Why the rush to pathologise grief and sadness & move people quickly to happiness?
Where does contentment lie on the continuum between sadness and happiness and what role it plays in assisting people to live fulfilling lives?
Audience Testimonials :-
'O my goodness! Absolutely brilliant! I feel “Normal” Thank you'
‘Challenging, got under your skin. A part that everyone could relate to. Made you cringe.'
'It stayed in my head, on top of everything for a couple of days, very strong'.
'Fantastic, emotionally engaging audience from the onset, very real. Perfect ending to an unending situation.'
'... an amazing piece of work ... the character was a seemingly ‘ordinary’ person dealing with the sadness in their life – their happiness seemed so brittle and fragile. I could connect to that and relate to the idea that for some people happiness is such an elusive thing that slips through your fingers just when you think you have a grip on it. ... as someone who has suffered anxiety and depression, some of those scenes actually made me a little edgy - very close to the truth. I will look forward to further developments.'
'As we drove home we mused upon the thoughts that anxiety is really common to all of us - the human condition, as it were, and you are exploring a vein here that is important to so many people, if art is to be a mirror to Life, and cause people to think. If you can give a sense to others what some of us go through, it opens doors to communication and understanding that are so valuable in breaking down barriers in attitudes to mental health. ... talking and ruminating on our thoughts about your production, and how it related to our own insecurities.'
'... the content was real enough to resonate with some visceral memory of my own experiences. It provoked a great deal of discussion.'
'I'm looking forward to the next chapter of the happiness question. '
'I felt very comforted by this piece and it was wonderful seeing how 'normal' it is for others to experience such anxieties, insecurities and lulls. It did strike me that as a society we do not readily admit or know how to talk about very well these less 'pleasing' faces of ourselves. I think this piece has great merit and is an idea that whilst 'enormous', is worthy of exploration ... I am very much looking forward to seeing how this piece is developed and shaped. I can't wait for the finished product.
- The Medicalisation of Unhappiness by Ronald W Dworkin.
We ask :-
Why the intolerance of sadness or grief?
Why the rush to happiness?
Why the developing obsession within the medical industry to diagnose unhappiness as a mental health condition?
Why the rush to pathologise grief and sadness & move people quickly to happiness?
Where does contentment lie on the continuum between sadness and happiness and what role it plays in assisting people to live fulfilling lives?
Audience Testimonials :-
'O my goodness! Absolutely brilliant! I feel “Normal” Thank you'
‘Challenging, got under your skin. A part that everyone could relate to. Made you cringe.'
'It stayed in my head, on top of everything for a couple of days, very strong'.
'Fantastic, emotionally engaging audience from the onset, very real. Perfect ending to an unending situation.'
'... an amazing piece of work ... the character was a seemingly ‘ordinary’ person dealing with the sadness in their life – their happiness seemed so brittle and fragile. I could connect to that and relate to the idea that for some people happiness is such an elusive thing that slips through your fingers just when you think you have a grip on it. ... as someone who has suffered anxiety and depression, some of those scenes actually made me a little edgy - very close to the truth. I will look forward to further developments.'
'As we drove home we mused upon the thoughts that anxiety is really common to all of us - the human condition, as it were, and you are exploring a vein here that is important to so many people, if art is to be a mirror to Life, and cause people to think. If you can give a sense to others what some of us go through, it opens doors to communication and understanding that are so valuable in breaking down barriers in attitudes to mental health. ... talking and ruminating on our thoughts about your production, and how it related to our own insecurities.'
'... the content was real enough to resonate with some visceral memory of my own experiences. It provoked a great deal of discussion.'
'I'm looking forward to the next chapter of the happiness question. '
'I felt very comforted by this piece and it was wonderful seeing how 'normal' it is for others to experience such anxieties, insecurities and lulls. It did strike me that as a society we do not readily admit or know how to talk about very well these less 'pleasing' faces of ourselves. I think this piece has great merit and is an idea that whilst 'enormous', is worthy of exploration ... I am very much looking forward to seeing how this piece is developed and shaped. I can't wait for the finished product.