Written by Rita T. Powell

Directed by Kirsten Z. Cairns

Original music written and performed by Nicholas Southwick and Riko Matsuoka

Based on the writings of Evagrius Ponticus

Players include Madeline Bugeau-Heartt, Gabriel M. Colombo, and Rita T. Powell

"Just as while we are awake, we say various things about sleep, but when we have fallen asleep we learn them by experience, so too all the things that we hear about God while we are outside of him: when we are in him we will receive their demonstration by experience." — Evagrius, Kephalaia Gnostika (KG) 1.38

Where do we encounter the divine? In whom does She present Herself? We Say Various Things About Sleep re-imagines the fourth-century monastic and writer Evagrius Ponticus as a contemporary woman, Evagria. Through word, movement, and original music for flute, harp, and percussion, this new play by the poet Rita T. Powell explores Evagria's search for love, beauty, and the sacred; her complex relationships with friends, lovers, and the Christian tradition; and her discoveries of God in unexpected places.