How to be an astronaut

THE BLACK HOLE PROJECT

I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 8, it changed my life forever and this show is the first show in a body of work exploring that change for me and other people. When I was diagnosed I was told a lot about the medical side of staying alive, but nobody taught us about everything else. I was taught only to survive, and now I think I deserve more than that. I'm trying to disrupt the medical narrative of epilepsy to focus on the emotional, psychological and social impact it has on people.

It is a trilogy of shows about growing up with a chronic condition like epilepsy. "Can you see into a black hole?" is the first show which explores the reality of my journey. The second show "How to be an astronaut" is for young people, and is the intervention to change this narrative. The third show is the imagined exploration of what happens if the intervention is successful, where we will send a person with epilepsy to space.

WHAT IS THE SHOW?

Part Two is called "Hot To Be An Astronaut". Instead of telling the story of what happened, it reimagines how things might be different for other people. It's a family show about how we might have better conversations about child-centred care for epilepsy, disability and chronic health, and the kinds of care we need as well as medical care.

It began life with a residency at ArtsDepot in 2020 after working with a childhood epilepsy research centre and with young people, and I am now looking to develop the script further to put it in production.