Kim Barke's BLOCKS OF SENSATION to be Presented at 14th St Y Theater

Written and performed by local playwright Kim Barke, Blocks of Sensation, a one-person show, is being presented at 14th St Y Theater in April. The production will be directed by the legendary Linda Mussmann, co-director of Time and Space Limited. Under the scalpel gaze of Kim Barke, poet and former scientist who studied addiction with funding from NIDA, Blocks of Sensation bushwacks into the tragic irony of queer mothering an adult addict 27 years after leaving the lab. This raw elegy is an unflinching journey into the heart of human behavior and the meaning of truth. Witness the metamorphosis of shame into art.

As 'Blocks of Sensation' makes its poignant debut, it reaches beyond the stage, bringing the stark reality of America's opioid crisis to the forefront in a deeply personal way. We are a nation grappling with nearly 280,000 prescription opioid-related deaths from 1999 to 2021. A portion of ticket sales is dedicated to supporting Truth Pharm, a trailblazing organization that aims to mitigate the harms caused by substance use through education, advocacy, and policy change. This alliance not only amplifies the impact of the performance but also reinforces the importance of community and collective action in the face of a national emergency that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, claimed nearly 92,000 lives in 2020 alone. Additionally, to foster inclusivity and community engagement, the production introduces a sliding scale admission fee and is available for live streaming across the globe. Kim Barke's transformation of personal grief into a universal call to awareness not only challenges us to confront the stark realities of addiction but also kindles a flame of hope through the transformative power of theater.

Performances will run Friday, April 5 at 5:30pm, Wednesday April 10 at 8:50pm and Sunday April 14 at 3:10pm.

HOW MUCH: Sliding scale $10.00 + $2.00 fee for virtual viewing and $25.00 + $2.00 fee in person

RUNNING TIME: 50 minutes
TICKETS: https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:631/

Kim Barke

is a queer poet, playwright, mother of two children, and former scientist who lives in Brooklyn and near Hudson, NY. This is her first produced show as a playwright and as a performer. In the 1990s, Kim's research on opioid addiction was funded by two grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Kim has published 10 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and two books of poetry. More recently, Kim has received nine Cannes Lions (including a Glass Lion for change), and awards from The Clios, The One Show, and D&AD among others for her projects "The Call," and "Skindeep," public health campaigns designed to create awareness on issues of racial bias in health care and race-based traumatic stress. Kim is dedicated to raising awareness and affecting change at the intersection of health and social justice.

Linda Mussmann

is an American avant-garde playwright, visual artist, a multimedia set and lighting designer, and an activist whose multi-disciplinary work has addressed problems of representation and language using elements of theater, movement and music. Mussmann is the founder of Time Space Limited Theater Inc., a theater company and performance space. Mussmann directed and adapted over 30 classic plays. Since 1978, Mussmann has been writing her own performance works and adapted from literature for theater and radio. Mussmann currently lives in Hudson, NY. She is the co-director of Time and Space Limited, (TSL) with Claudia Bruce, her wife and lifelong collaborator.

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