ABOUT THE PROCESS:
From Creator Ace Lovelace
I'll be completely honest with you. I received a scholarship to produce at the Fringe after applying for Theatre Community Fund's Crescendo Award, a grant for BIPOC playwrights to have an original piece produced. I found out about this grant a few days before it was due, so I quickly began writing. I submitted a half finished 2 act script and I'm sure it was obvious I had never applied for a grant before. I understandably did not receive the grant, but I still received a Crescendo Award in the form of a scholarship for the 2022 Fringe Festival from a generous donor through TCF. I first thought I would finish the play I submitted and do a staged reading, but my heart pulled me in a different direction. I impulsively asked if I could write a new show and I wanted it to somehow encompass the subject of grief.
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My brother died several years ago. I don't know how many; time kind of melded together. He died of a very rare and aggressive cancer with a 0% survival rate and he was gone in 6 months after being diagnosed at stage 4. He fought so hard that he was 99.9% cancer free; it was an infection in his liver from the treatment that took his life. He's a hero in my book.
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Surreal is the only word that comes to mind after an experience like this. Nothing made sense. There were times that I felt like I was on fire, I was so confused that I couldn't move, I couldn't tell you what my name was--and worst of all, since I was living at home, I had to see firsthand how heartbreaking it is to see parents outlive their child. I'm not telling you this in an attempt to garner any type of sympathy; I just want to give you a very miniscule taste of my past experiences so you may better understand what Process Inevitable is all about.
The structure of this story follows Joseph Campbell's cross cultural study of comparative mythology that he outlined in his book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces," which involves what he calls the "The Hero's Journey," an adventure that any of us can embark upon if we heed the call and choose to become the hero of our own story. In it, he describes what he calls the "Monomyth," which refers to how he discovered that there is actually only one story in the world with infinite permutations when the details are changed. These stories always follow the same arc in each variation. It's very interesting, Wikipedia it!
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All of this was made possible because of Casey Jane. She came to me and asked if she could be of any assistance and I jumped at the chance to ask her to be my Co-Director. She has literally been a godsend, and I can't possibly ever thank her enough. She got her talented friends and colleagues involved, helped me cast the show, found me a fantastic crew of artists, helped me with edits, fine-tuned the marketing, and took the helm in rehearsals--enabling me to focus on choreography and performing. She really is a phenomenally talented and driven individual. Thanks to her, my cast, Sarah Aptilon, Darren Canady, TCF, The Westport Bowery, and the old and new staff at the Fringe Festival--I am able to share this story with you because of their kindness, support, and dedication. This is the scariest thing I've ever done, but I can't wait for this to be the first of many stories I can share. Stay tuned...
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After I was given permission to change the show I was writing, I spent two days sitting in front of my computer and then began to panic. The words "GRIEF? YOU wanted to write a story about grief? That's like a painter painting a storm while on deck of a ship that's currently being shredded to pieces by said storm. WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!?" were constantly running through my head. I'd already paid for my space, so I knew I had to do it and I just forced myself to begin writing. About two months later, I somehow came up with Process Inevitable, formerly "For Crying Out Loud: The 5 Stages of Grief." Everyone's grief experience is different, so I decided to choose specific subject matters about grief that people go through during the bereavement process.
I enjoy fiction, metaphors, and analogies, so instead of writing a piece about a young man in a regular world dealing with grief, I decided it would be fun and more interesting to go a different route. For example, the character's names are very important to the story: Ego (Metaphysics of Self/ Denial), Ira (Wrath/Anger), Acedia (Depression/Sloth), Gula (Bargaining/Gluttony/Addiction), and Golden Teacher (Peace and Acceptance) are all very important to the story. The main character "Iam," which means "a free spirited individual," is representative of a universal hero that embarks on a journey, as grief is a universal experience.
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This show is dedicated to the remembrance of my late brother Chase Lovelace, as well as Andrew Sander, both awesome young men gone too soon. This is also dedicated to my mom, dad, oldest brother Adam, the rest of my extended family, the LaGrone/Sander family, and my kitty Forest.
I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
~ Evan Ace Lovelace
(Don't forget to check out "A Neophyte's Prototype," my visual arts display at Fringe Visual Arts at Union Station!)
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"After death and mourning, grief can inspire a person to create whatever they want. The act of creating turns a person's isolation into a more peaceful solitude. In the midst of the reality shift that comes from the inevitable, a forgotten thought is conditioned in silence to become an idea. This idea brings potential. The process in manifesting this idea is where the magic happens, because sooner or later you look at this creation and think...
Who the hell came up with this?"
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[All artwork by Ace Lovelace]
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