During Alzheimer’s And Brain Health Awareness Month, Motus Theater Announces New Work Exploring The Human Realities Of Caregiving And Dementia

BOULDER, CO — No Contract is a solo-theater performance that draws on Wilson’s experience caring for her mother, author and equity-based LGBTQ+ feminist leader Marie C. Wilson, who established Take Our Daughters to Work, founded the White House Project, and led micro-enterprise opportunities for women in poverty.

The dramatic ‘contract’ at the heart of this two-act performance is her mother’s request to be killed if she loses her mind. The production blends autobiographical storytelling, Hamlet, King Lear, karaoke, and audience engagement to explore the complex tension between choosing life and death—the “to be and not to be” of assisted suicide after a dementia diagnosis. In No Contract, Wilson uses humor and heart to prevent both the performance and her mother’s life from becoming a Lear-like tragedy. As Wilson says in Act One, “My mother’s life was always supposed to be a romantic comedy, a 1950’s musical, except with lesbians dancing in the street. I will not let it turn toward tragedy.”

Announced during Alzheimer’s & Brain Health Awareness Month and premiering in September during World Alzheimer’s Month, the work offers a timely cultural perspective on issues facing families across Colorado and the nation related to dementia, including the economic and emotional costs of caregiving and the challenges of both home and institutional healthcare options. But No Contract goes deeper than costs, services, and community. It centers the human experience: the questions families face when roles shift, memories fade, and love asks more of us than we expected.

WHY THIS STORY MATTERS: Caregiving touches nearly every family, yet many caregivers navigate their journeys in isolation. Through personal storytelling, No Contract creates space for audiences to reflect on caregiving not as a private burden, but as a shared human experience. The performance also helps audiences process their own fears and strategies related to diseases of the brain, and how we want to both live and die. According to the National Institute of Health, 42% of Americans over age 55 will eventually develop dementia. Wilson’s play asks, “Is there a way to have dementia without tragedy, when  ‘to be or not to be’ is always the question?”

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:

• Interviews with playwright and performer Kirsten Wilson about No Contract and its relationship to the topics of caregiving, aging, dementia, and family relationships.

• Coverage connected to Alzheimer’s & Brain Health Awareness Month (June) or World Alzheimer’s Month (September)

• Behind-the-scenes access to the development of a new original theatrical work

TICKETS: Available through the Dairy Arts Center.

ABOUT KIRSTEN WILSON: Kirsten Wilson is the Artistic Executive Director, founder, and visionary of Motus Theater. She is a narrative artist, master teacher in the field of autobiographical monologue work, and editor of the Motus Monologues and Shoebox Stories podcasts. Kirsten has created several award-winning multimedia performances exploring history through the lens of race and class. Wilson excels at co-developing autobiographical monologue projects with leaders on the frontlines of violence and oppression in the U.S., putting them center stage as the protagonists in the American drama. These autobiographical monologues expand perceptions, disrupt dehumanizing narratives, inspire more humane policies, and shed light on the root causes of injustice. Her work has been featured in media outlets as diverse as Theater Magazine, NPR, Fast Company, Ms. Magazine, The Washington Post, and USA Today. Through Motus Theater’s acclaimed Shoebox Stories project, she has collaborated with iconic figures such as Gloria Steinem, Yo-Yo Ma, John Lithgow, José Andrés, Ai-jen Poo, and many more.

Wilson’s recent recognitions include: Naropa University Commencement Speaker; Artistic Innovator award from the Alliance for Technology Learning and Society at CU Boulder; Women Who Light the Community Award from the Boulder Chamber; the Women Who Tell Our Stories from the City of Boulder; Art & Activism Award from Northern Colorado Dreamers United, Multicultural Action Award from Boulder County; Person of the Year Award from the Boulder Weekly; Peacemaker of the Year Award from Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice; the Windhorse Service Award from Naropa University; and the Square Nail Award from the Boulder Heritage Roundtable. Her work has been supported by several grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT MOTUS THEATER: The mission of Motus Theater is to create original theater to facilitate dialogue on critical issues of our time. We aim to use the power of art to build alliances across diverse segments of our community and country.  Motus Theater’s latest project What Love Requires, builds upon their specialty: developing artfully crafted autobiographical monologues with leaders on the front lines of violence and oppression in the U.S., putting them center stage as the protagonists in the American drama. Motus’ JustUs project presents powerful monologues from formerly incarcerated people to encourage community conversations about criminal legal reform and true justice. Since 2018, the “multimedia” ImmigrantAmerica project has interrupted dehumanizing portrayals of immigrants by encouraging thoughtful engagement on the challenges facing the undocumented community and the assets immigrants bring to our country.

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