“Monologue” Self-Portraits

For two years I was starved of live performing. On the stage: yes. In the everyday: yes as well. A demoralizing blow, of course, for a playwright and any human. I missed the once-monotonous routine of getting into my costume, behaving, and going back home to (figuratively) unmask. It has been difficult to reconcile existing to most people as a digital facsimile. In return, my default and conditioned acting style has changed. Gestures, language, eye-contact, breath — these monikers of my character adapted to isolation and digital interaction. I’ve become my own acting partner after living alone. Without a live audience, how has that shaped who I am as a person? This series of animated self-portraits acts as a journal of my expressions, a recording of my self-presentation, and an invitation to act with me. I perform for the camera as characters removed from the play and concentrated into a single moment. Left to no other option, these gifs exist as another fictional digital representation of myself.