Take a seat, any seat. They all have perfect acoustics.

Theatre

ancient origins
The restorative power of theatre is nothing new. In ancient Greece, amphitheatres were often placed near sanctuaries for healing, like this acoustically perfect one in Epidavros. Carved into a mountain, its placement is a harmonious marriage of architecture and nature. Beside the theatre is an expansive sanctuary dedicated to Asklepios, the god of medicine. It’s where pilgrims traveled from around the ancient world to seek cures and comfort. It’s where evidence-based medical practices began. Yes, right beside a theatre. Epidavros is a union of art and medicine, of music, science, surgery, and plays.

communal healing
By watching plays at amphitheatres, entire villages, communities, and warring city-states processed loss together. Communally. Wars paused not only for the Olympics, but also for literary competitions. Can you imagine? Ancient people held the secret to healing, and it wasn’t in isolation or silence, but in tears and laughter. Tragedies and comedies were written to provoke katharsis—an emotional release—within the audience. This katharsis was as medicinal as the health care being performed in the hospitals just beyond the stage.

Roots & Wings Onstage

How One Woman Transforms Illness into Inspiration

her origins
Demetra grew up onstage. At just nine years old, she began studying acting at Grandstreet Theatre with Marianne Adams, a Tony Award finalist for Excellence in Theatre Education. Soon, Demetra was coached by Julliard alumnus Colby Chambers, NYU theatre professor Erin Ortman, and Cats Broadway cast member Blair Bybee. In college, Demetra traveled the country seeking specialized training in movement. At Santa Clara University, she delved into modern dance and musical theatre. At the University of Hawaii in Hilo, she deepened her understanding of Hawaiian culture, hula kahiko, and hula ‘auana. Of all the styles Deme has danced—hip hop, cheerleading, jazz, ballet, Irish dance, modern, musical theatre—hula has been the most healing.

her illness
As a teen, Deme honored the call of her seafaring ancestors by embarking on a study abroad program atop a sailing ship. On the first leg of her voyage, she fell severely ill from adverse effects of a drug meant to protect her from malaria. It wreaked havoc in her body, generating acute abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and skin eruptions. For days it worsened, misunderstood as common seasickness by the adults meant to protect her. Neglected below deck for nine days, her childhood dream of sailing turned into a nightmare. Her life as an active, expressive youth was replaced by a period of fear, shame, and isolation. After enduring such trauma, Deme lost her body and her voice.

her transformation
After years of suffering in silence, Demetra took a creative nonfiction writing course that changed the course of her life. For the first time, she wrote about her invisible wounds. In her research, she found words like ambiguous loss, disenfranchised grief, and resilience. While writing helped her to recover her voice, dance helped her to reclaim her body and embrace the process of healing. Eventually, she felt her feet re-root and her spirit take flight once more. It’s only fitting, then, that she shares her story onstage.

her play
In graduate school, Demetra wrote a 300-page manuscript, which would later be transformed into a published memoir, as well as a stage play. Adapting 300 pages of narrative nonfiction down to a 30-page script, Demetra memorized 6,000 words and choreographed every step. Calling on her origins—her theatre people—she workshopped each scene with a village of actors and directors across the country. Her script was vetted by MDs, MSNs, and PhDs, and aligned with the DSM-5. Since its premiere in 2016, Demetra has toured Roots & Wings Onstage in Montana, the Northwest, Seattle, Chicago, and Boston. Mirroring what her ancestors practiced in Epidavros, she shares her work with family medicine residencies, nursing programs, pharmacy schools, and health care centers to spread awareness about mental health and compassionate patient care.

“Her performance not only entertains but also educates. It is art as advocacy, an invitation to reflect on mental health and the conditions that support patients and women.”
~ Educator, MA

“Demetra’s story gives me hope that I too can transform my life into something beautiful.”
~ Trauma Survivor

Praise

“The parallels that Roots & Wings strikes in audience members burdened with their own grief or loss evoke the possibility that healing is absolutely within our reach.”
~ Counselor, MC

“Demetra skillfully weaves visual scenes, recalled conversations, and medical studies in ways that never lose the audience.”
~ Vietnam Veteran, MFA

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