Rocco, Chelsea, Adriana, Sean, Claudia, Gianna, Alex

Intent and Process

An insidious climate of polarization increasingly sweeps Americans up, impels us to take sides, and not only divides us against each other on all manner of social, political, and cultural issues, but also inculcates habits of mind and speech marked by righteousness, certainty, and suspicion that directly undermine the potential for vibrant civic life, world-class artistic expression, and constructive political participation. TÉA artists dove into the creation of Rocco, Chelsea,…to dramatize the thinking, feeling, and deciding of individuals whose challenges and options are unavoidably shaped by the polarizing tendencies of contemporary American politics and culture. The Challenge was to do so in a way that triggers increased reflexive awareness and self-recognition within audience members. Our aim was to create a performance piece that links characters not by geography, or plot line, or political issue, but by the ever-precarious effort to be mindful not reactive, conscientious not rash, free not constrained in making decisions that shape their identities, their relationships, and the lives they want to live.

Rocco, Chelsea, Adriana, Sean, Claudia, Gianna, Alex is a full-length, multi-genre, theatrical performance piece featuring original music, video, and choreography. Set in New York City, the play takes audience members sympathetically into the thinking, feeling, and deciding of ten characters engaged in the common struggle of finding one’s bearings, one’s balance, and one’s personal integrity in a culture cross-cut by polarizing issues and habit of mind. 

The community-based research and aesthetic experimentation and discovery for Rocco, Chelsea, Adriana, Sean, Claudia, Gianna, Alex was carried out between 2015 and 2018. The TÉA Company conducted scores of Insight conversations and utilized Insight Artistry to develop Rocco, Chelsea,…