Mourning Machine. (2022-present)
A participatory ritual for grieving in community.
A joyful space to restore the soul.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
Mourning Machine is an ongoing research & performance project about the scientific, personal, political, aesthetic, and ritual aspects of grieving. It is built by a creative community which gathered to study and perform alternatives to the highly commercialized and capitalistic approaches to death, dying, and grieving that we receive in contemporary culture(s). It now manifests as a series of immersive grief-spaces, each created for a specific community in a specific time and place.
Creative Team:
CONVENED AND ORGANIZED BY: Jess Applebaum, Mica Baum-Tuccillo, Nic Benacerraf, Bea Martino
DIRECTED BY: Nic Benacerraf
CURRENT AND PAST COLLABORATORS: Mollie Andron, Elvis Bakaitis, Mara Einstein, Choco Garcia-Rivera, Kate Fry, Dorothea Gloria, Jax Jackson, Chie Morita, Vanessa Ogbuehi, Austin Purnell, Xinan Helen Ran, Richard Saudek, Jacques Servin, Jillian Walker
DISCIPLINES REPRESENTED: Social Psychology, Arts Activism, Public Relations, Jewish Studies, Clown, Theater, Visual Art, Music, Dance, Library Studies, etc.
Mourning Machines:
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Coffin Karaoke – a Filipino Catholic tradition of singing next to the coffin, known as Karaoke Lamay
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Clowns & Coffins – a rehearsal for walking into a funeral... as a clown
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Name Tag Machine – a way to identify yourself as the "Mourner of..."
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“Sitting-With” Machine – a one-on-one experience of “saying hello again” to a lost loved one, guided by a trained psychotherapist
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Altar Machine – a cumulative, sculptural shrine
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Humming Machine – guided experience of group humming for one minute at a time
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Conversation Machine – a place to hang out, debrief about the other machines, and discuss personal and cultural fears/wishes around our own death
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Sanctuary Machine – a place to be alone
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Sound Machine – a sound installation collaging sounds of funeral rites from around the world
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Procession Machine – a procession through the streets, coffin in hand, inspired by New Orleans second-lines
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Toast Machine – an endless round of saying toasts around the coffin
December 19, 2024
Mourning Machine: A Joyful Grief-Space for the NYC Theater Community
at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center
This low-stakes, participatory gathering is designed to honor the history and resilience of the NYC theater community, during a time of uncertainty and reconfiguration. The evening features Coffin Karaoke, drinks, lasagna, sparkly clown-tears, and other activities! Come sing a song, deliver an impromptu eulogy, or just be present with some wonderful people.
What do we want to send off?
What do we want to honor?
Who do we want to raise a toast to?
Co-created by: Jess Applebaum, Mica Baum-Tuccillo, Nic Benacerraf, Choco Garcia Rivera, Kate Fry, Dorothea Gloria, Jax Jackson, Bea Martino, and Austin Purnell
Invited and commissioned by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center.
Mourning Machine is made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program funded by DCLA, NYSCA, and the Howard Gilman Foundation, and administered by LMCC.
Join our Grieving Community!
We're designing this project in modular ways to invite the participation of others. Know people or organizations who are working on grief and mourning as a collective practice? Let us know!