Hemispheric Dysfunctionalism & the Cortical Titanic is currently docked at Capital Fringe. To purchase tickets, click here.
Written by Michael Merino, the interdisciplinary performance piece will be co-directed by the playwright and Kerri Rambow, the creative team that brought you Squirrel, or The Origin of a Species and The Quick Brown Fox Jumped over the Lazy Dogs.
Titanic Ensemble
This new work is not only in 3D, but it features Ian LeValley as the Captain, Scott Sedar as the millionaire, Misty Demory (not as his wife), with Keith Irby, Jefferson Farber, Megan Dominy, Keith Waters, Bethany Michel, Patrick Joy, Darius T. Epps and Phil McLeod rounding out the cast. For more information about the cast, please click here.
Original and period-inspired music complements the play. Jason McCool serves as the music director with Rachel Rollins and Katharina Acosta performing as the Lorelei.
Titanic Themes
Hemispheric Dysfunctionalism and the Cortical Titanic addresses the dichotomy between perception and cognition and the structures by which information is disseminated and interpreted. Using the Titanic’s maiden voyage as a narrative framework, the piece explores the themes of intellectual and technological achievements and the foibles of the species. The story uses the ship as a metaphor for the damaged brain to illustrate the fragility of the human condition and the vainglorious attempts to subject nature, to surpass the deity, and to defy common sense.
The characters present a variety of perspectives concerning gender roles, class distinctions, evolution, and social Darwinism as they struggle with the rapid changes of the industrial age. Humanity’s once-privileged role in a now machine-dominated world is confronted along with neuro-biological and philosophical issues.
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I greatly enjoyed this thought-provoking, fast-paced, superbly acted play. In particular, I appreciated the accurate presentation of neurological function and dysfunction coupled with reference to philosophical interpretations of meaning and depictions of our universal animal instincts.
AKA: humans still falling in love and lust, drinking and enjoying food and games, even as their ship sank, their brains malfunctioned, and their loved ones betrayed them. Reminds me of what I do at work.
Robin, MD PhD, Neurologist