Portrait of a Family
written and performed by Sarah Carleton with music composed by Dan Cassin.
Portrait of the Family came from years of talking about how to share the stories and experiences of my family. In graduate school I was encouraged to do something with the story of my family and my final semester I performed a first draft of a performance that would become Portrait of a Family. After graduating I committed to working on this piece and spent the next year researching and writing. On March 13th, 2010, the first performance of Portrait of a Family took place. Following that first performance the piece was performed an additional six times. The performance weaves interviews I did with my siblings with a look at my own journey of processing adoption and the complexities of adoption as it impacts transracial and international adoptees in the United States and their siblings who aren’t adopted.
Performances:
Premier, Beaver Falls, PA March 13th, 2010. Rhonda Roorda joined for a post show discussion.
May 10th, 2010, Beaver County Christian School, Beaver Falls, PA
September 10, 2010, Bethany Christian Services, Allison Park, PA
July 22-25th, 2010, African/Caribbean Heritage Camp, Denver, CO
November 10th, 2010, Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA
March 21, 2011, Slippery Rock University, PA for the Diversity and Democracy Series
May 13th, 2011, Christian Alliance for Orphans, Louisville, KY
Photos by Caryn Azure
