Motus Theater Presents: “No Contract” – Dementia, Reflection and Writing Workshop with Kirsten Wilson

TICKETS ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: Take a day-long deep dive into the impact of caring for family members with dementia or negotiating your own fears of losing your mind with celebrated facilitator and artist Kirsten Wilson. This is an opportunity to gather in community to use the performance “No Contract” to launch your own reflections and writings on the impact of dementia and fears associated with aging. The morning will begin with a performance of Act I, followed by personal reflections, writing, and discussion on dementia. After a shared lunch within small reflection groups, a performance of Act II, with a facilitated dialogue, writing exercises, and reflections. No skill as a writer necessary, just the willingness to courageously explore caregiving, our mortality, and dementia in community. (Lunch included in workshop fee). ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE: “No Contract” is a one-woman show exploring a mother’s request not to endure dementia. It asks: “is there a way to have dementia without tragedy, when ‘to be or not to be’ is always the question?” Created by Kirsten Wilson in honor of her mother and loved ones everywhere, experiencing or caring for people with dementia. “No Contract” is a one-woman theatrical work written and performed by Motus Theater’s artistic director, Kirsten Wilson, about dementia in relation to her mother, Marie Wilson—founder of ‘Take Our Daughters to Work Day,’ LGBTQ+ leader, author, and equity-based feminist. The dramatic ‘contract’ at the heart of this two-act performance is a mother’s request to be killed if she loses her mind to dementia. 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 & heart to prevent both the performance & 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.” Through Wilson’s advocacy amid systemic failures in elder care, the piece invites caregivers, LGBTQ+ residents, and aging Coloradans to see their experiences reflected and engage in community dialogue on equity, dignity, and end-of-life care.