Sleeptalk is a collaborative, experimental dance work about sleep talking and our relationship to the unconscious. Developed around actual recordings of sleep talking, it explores the revealing, disturbing, and even humorous things that can surface, translating them through an appropriately dreamlike mix of media. Conceived by Ashley Fargnoli in collaboration with the dancers, a videographer, composer, and set designer, Sleeptalk is inspired by Fargnoli’s own sleep talking, which began as a reaction to the vicarious trauma she encountered working as a trauma therapist. As the performance unfolds, it moves from the personal to Jung’s collective unconscious. The audience will discover threads that link the dancer’s stories and the mysterious power of the unconscious that connect us all.

This project is partially supported by an Individual Artist Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, as well as a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Choreographer: Ashley Fargnoli, in collaboration with the dancers  www.ashleyfargnoli.com

Performers: Julie Brannen, Monica Carrow, Wei-chiung (Coco) Chen-Martinez, Ashley Fargnoli

Videographer: Shawn Convey

Musician/composer: Josh Convey

Costumes: Yana Atim