A LESSON IN SWIMMING

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written & performed BY

Michael Shutt

 

directION & dramaturgy by

Diana Wyenn

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Every Stroke is Different. In 2015, more than 750,000 Americans experienced strokes. Approximately 600,000 survived. This is one survivor's story. 

Hilarious and poignant, A Lesson In Swimming takes you inside writer/performer Michael Shutt's brain as it “breaks” and invites you to experience how deep the cracks really go. Left partially blind, partially paralyzed, and partial to chocolate pudding, Michael sets out on a quest to put the pieces of his broken brain back together and ultimately discovers that what he perceived to be broken might actually have been cracked open.

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AUDIENCE RESPONSES TO 2019 WORKSHOP

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"Michael Shutt has painted a beautiful picture of what it’s like to suffer and survive a stroke. He’s done an amazing service for OUR community." —Stroke Survivor 

 

"Captures the magic of storytelling in the midst of trauma and the resiliency of the human spirit." 

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"Every nurse should see this show!" —ICU Nurse

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"As a caregiver to a stroke survivor, I could relate to the caregiver characters. I could see my story in them." 

 

"You’ll laugh, you’ll be moved, and you’ll learn so much about how to be brave." 

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"A LESSON IN SWIMMING brings to life in stark detail the insanity and inhumanity of our health care system and shows that courage is sometimes a minute-by-minute feat."

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"A brave and heroic piece of work ... Michael Shutt is willing to lead us on a tour of his deepest fears and somehow is able to be completely entertaining and very, very, very funny!" 

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"Michael [reaches] people in a way they’ve not been reached before. You can and will walk out of A LESSON IN SWIMMING a different person." 

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"Sharp writing, expert delivery, and vivid storytelling."

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PERFORMANCE HISTORY

 

Fall 2020 / World premiere presented by Moving Arts and Bootleg Theatre (details coming soon!)

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August 28 - September 5, 2019 / Workshop production presented by Moving Arts at Atwater Village Theater 

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May 4, 2019 / Staged reading presented at Moving Arts’ Season’s Readings Reading Series at Harmony Toluca Lake

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April 8, 2018 / Original staged reading at Beyond Baroque presented by Terrie Silverman as part of her Creative Rites Solo-Show Master Class

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COLLABORATORS

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Diana Wyenn
director & dramaturg

Avery Reagan
lighting designer

John Zalewski
sound designer

Rachel Werbel
assistant director

Michael Friedlander
stage manager

Cece Tio & Moving Arts
producer

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A LESSON IN SWIMMING was initially written in Terrie Silverman’s Creative Rites Masterclass and then received a workshop production at Moving Arts. 

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