Cetology

Cetology “see-TOL-oh-jee” (n.): The study of whales. One woman warps the destructive story of Moby Dick and the selfless story of Jonah’s whale in an attempt to understand being left behind by her husband and son. As Ahab’s wife and Jonah’s mother, she harnesses the power of women’s anger and the delicacy of exercising that rage in this powerful story of love, loss, and...whales. Cetology brings an intimate perspective to the conversation around how women are expected to comport themselves and dampen their emotions to suit traditional constructs of romantic partnership and motherhood.

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Nelia Miller weaves together theater, video projection, dance, and music in this solo performance. While angry women are often stigmatized, Miller uses the disquieting journey of releasing suppressed anger as narrative fuel to transform these well-known stories into blistering confrontations of unequal relationships.