A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Addict is a string trio composed by Jackie An that explores the undercurrents of addiction.  

This work is my first foray into graphic and text-based notation, as I have historically used dance choreography as a visual score or a loop pedal for composing. Using acoustic string performance, found sound, sound object, and fixed media tape, I’m sharing my reflections on how I moved through the world as a young person. My addiction recovery has taught me that the past will request an audience until it becomes a demand. As I’ve learned to meet this demand by bearing witness to my past, I have created this work as a portal for the fearful and dissociated. May you have safe passage into the future, may your path be gentle.

For Friends of Bill

This  drowning in a glass of water
Is  dependent on every breath held
A  tidal surge so mean even friendly otters lose their grip
First  the silica molecules bubble apart
Step  on sand
Share  a shipwreck

Community Care 

Please wear a mask; some masks will also be provided at the door.  

Resources from Peer Seattle will also be available at the door. There will be a talkback with the composer and ensemble after the performance at 8:45, moderated by Jesse Roth.   

Jackie An (they/them) accompanies their audience through the themes of life, death, horror and delight through the many voices of the violin. Like a bowerbird, they have collected learnings and experiences from across their lifetime in order to construct a nest for community healing to hatch. Jackie is also a Somatic Educator in the Tradition of Thomas Hanna, guiding people back home to their bodies.

Lori Goldston is a cellist and composer from Seattle. Her voice as a cellist draws connections between far-flung idioms and explores timbral thresholds of her instrument, driven by a restless curiosity and informed by a long, widely varied history of collaborations with bands, ensembles large and small, composers, film makers and choreographers.

Seattle-based violist and composer Heather Bentley has trailblazed a career as one of the West Coast’s most visible improvisatory musicians, specializing in creating evocative atmospheres and textures. Relentless in her pursuit of creativity, she continues this work as co-founder of Kin of the Moon, a 501(c)3 organization which fosters collaboration between artists in service of creating unique art.

Jesse Roth (she/her) is a writer, theatre artist, and dramaturg. She is the Communications Manager for The Williams Project, a living-wage theatre company. Her essay Good Housekeeping for the Sick has been published by Bitter Bill Press.

Curated for Nonsequitur’s NonSeq series by Michaud Savage.