Julian Goldhagen's TALK TO ME ABOUT SHAME Plays Theatre Row, 11/6

Solo artist, Julian Goldhagen, is remounting his performance piece, Talk to me about Shame, wherein he deconstructs the experience of shame through movement, story-telling, and audience participation techniques.

The piece, which will be performed at 7:30 PM on November 6th, 2012 at Theatre Row as part of the United Solo Festival, is an investigation of shame that seeks to transform the experience from one that is isolating to one that fosters community. Audiences are asked to witness Goldhagen perform his shame, as well as lead through various participatory exercises in order to reconfigure opinions around shame.

Talk to me about Shame was conceived in 2011 after a string of LGBTQ youth suicides. Goldhagen, twenty-two and a recent graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, began conducting interviews about shame in public spaces around New York City. “It seemed clear in the news that there can be serious repercussions if individuals don’t have safe spaces to discuss shame,” Goldhagen says of his motivation for the piece. After working to carve out spaces in public for individuals to talk about shame, Goldhagen worked to translate some of the patterns he heard onto the stage. What he created provides audiences with both a mental and physical space to reflect on their own shame, as well as witness shame in others in order to be empowered and heal.

Julian Goldhagen is a solo performance artist living in Brooklyn, New York. He has performed original work both domestically abroad, focusing mainly on themes surrounding mental health, social justice, and LGBTQ issues. He has most recently worked under the direction of Tony nominated director Liz Swados, Robert Moss, and Lear deBessonet. In addition to his work in the theatre, Julian has worked in various international grassroots Non-Governmental Organizations to promote women’s rights, food security, and equitable access to early childhood education, as well to fight oppressive governments in Burma, Cuba, and Belarus.