Mosaic’s ‘The Art of Care’ is Exactly What We Need

metroweekly.com:

As if theater performers didn’t already expose several dimensions of themselves onstage, even while in the guise of fictional roles, Mosaic’s world-premiere The Art of Care demands an extra degree of emotional and individual nakedness rarely required of actors.No one in the cast has to strip down, per se, but each member of the seven-person ensemble bares intimate glimpses at some of their own most vulnerable, even painful moments.

Conceived and directed by Derek Goldman, The Art of Care was developed with its cast, who weave oral storytelling, dramatic scenes, songs, and movement into a warm tapestry of testimony, both to the caregivers in their lives, and to the care they’ve given.They also perform the testimony of caregivers who were interviewed for the play.

The result, a free-wheeling carousel of vignettes and interludes that cohere into a fulfilling, enriching experience, employs every aspect of theater craft and community to serve the message of sharing empathy, especially with those in suffering.The prevailing tone is earnest and positive, a little kumbaya, reflected in the sepia-toned lighting and the set design straight out of a coffeehouse, with the couch and rug to match.Before the show begins, the actors, recognizable as some of D.C.

theater’s most admired, mingle among the audience, taking notes from them on the caregivers in their lives. We’re all in this together, according to The Art of Care, none divided.