The Archive of Educated Hearts

See it if u want to see a multimedia tribute to four breast cancer victims & hear their stories of reflection, empathy & strength in their own words.

Don't see it if ur uncomfortable with the subject (breast cancer); u expect more of a conventional theater piece than a spoken word performance art piece.

Also The subject matter is serious & heartbreaking, and the journey is a very personal one for the storyteller (who lost her mother & three aunts to the disease), but Andrews manages to avoid the obvious pitfalls of manipulating the (intimate) audience's emotions or turning her performance into a dark & maudlin affair. Nor does she try to be preachy or didactic. There's hope in these women's journeys, and Andrews (through her own lyrical prose & by sharing clips from a 1920s self-help book) and her subjects (from their own taped interviews) impart valuable life lessons.

Note: These performances take place in a brand new upstairs loft space at Soho Playhouse.... Read more Read less

See it if for the deep self reflection brought on by facing serious illness.

Don't see it if you are looking for a traditional theatrical experience.

See it if Terminal illness of four femme loved ones is presented through snaps & audio renderings."Tragedy is a fault line, marking before & after."

Don't see it if Very intelligently written & comfortably conveyed, but at thirty minutes & the use of blackboard & chalk, this educated heart needs more.

Also "The educated heart feels the pain of love & has to learn to be kind/She prays to nipple mountain"... Read more Read less

See it if Four women with breast cancer telling (thru tapes) their stories with photo.

Don't see it if can be very emotional, this is not a show. Subject matter is not for everyone.

See it if you want to grow emotionally and spiritually from the perspective of breast cancer patients who do not accept notion of themselves as victim

Don't see it if you don’t appreciate one woman narrative and voice recordings of women sharing a life crisis with recitations by male reader of book re EI.

Also This show would be more powerful if produced and edited by a professional audio producer and expanded to include more authoritative writings reflecting the recommendations by experts of different religions, cultures, and races regarding personal, familial, and friends’ handling of fatal diagnoses. For example, Presbyterian Fred Rogers said, “If you can mention it, you can manage it.”... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a 30 minute presenation of 4 womens emotional journey through breast cancer. Cool visual aid.

Don't see it if If you want to see a show or if you don't like the subject of breast cancer. Audio needs improvement.

See it if you find yourself in a contemplative mood & want to hear an artist's intimate thoughts & reflections on 4 special women in her family circle

Don't see it if you're not the kind of person who likes to reflect on family, relationships, life, illness and our finite time on this planet.

Also This was a very intimate if too brief reflection that focused on Casey's 4 very special women in her life, all of whom shared a diagnosis of breast cancer: her grandmother, her aunt, and two of her high school teachers, one of whom was her drama teacher, Emma, who, diagnosed at the age of 34, when her daughter was 18mos old, survived to see her daughter grow to the age of 13. She hinted in passing at a totally different concern when it comes to how the British NHS deals with terminally ill patients, by not prioritizing and possibly withholding precious life-extending medicines.

As someone very interested in the minutiae of all things that affect every-day quality of life, I would have loved to hear more both on the relationships, the coping, the ups and the downs. She shared very personal photos and audio recordings with us of these lovely women.

It is a heavy subject and thus it was dosed in small portions. I'll save a spot in my heart for more on the Archive of Educated Hearts.... Read more Read less