Event

Failure 2 Communicate

Performers Under Stress (PUS) opens its sixth season of critically acclaimed stage-work in the Bay Area with the World Premiere of Failure To Communicate, a physical theatre piece which, through multiple viewpoints, unlocks the inner visions of the inhabitants of a high school for severely Behavior Disordered, Emotionally Disturbed, Learning Disabled students and their teachers, by PUS Managing Director Valerie Fachman (Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Citation nominee).

PUS Artistic Director, Scott Baker, helms this story of autistic and sexually-abused kids forced into high school classes with gang bangers, and the teachers who try to channel that chaos into education. Following the lives of six students at this inner-city school, this production articulates the tales and inner voices of children and teachers whose experiences are largely ignored. Employing language for those who can speak and movement for those who cannot speak, Ms. Fachman's play, based upon her experiences teaching at such a school in Chicago, illuminates pockets of hope where one might expect no hope to exist, revealing the humor these youths find between the scary moments. Contains mature language.