.jpg)
Zombies Headed To W&L
Play Making Lexington Debut
Washington and Lee University welcomes Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre’s performance of “The Zombie Life: A Seminar for Humans Seeking Conversion” this Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m. in Stackhouse Theater. Admission is free.
The play was written by Chris Gavaler of W&L’s Department of English and directed by Joan Gavaler of William and Mary University’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
After an online preview in 2020, the play world-premiered at the Richmond’s Firehouse Theatre in 2021, was restaged in Williamsburg with a new cast in 2023, and now appears in Lexington for the first time before returning to Williamsburg for a performance the following weekend.
The play is a self-help seminar from a therapist with a unique remedy for life’s hardships: become a zombie. His converted assistants provide testimonials, but as the seminar unfolds, they verge dangerously off script.
“Should we all convert – or are there secrets to life that even this ultimate therapy can’t cure?” says Chris Gavaler.
After the performance, there will be an opportunity for conversation with the author, director, and cast, including Clifford Clark, Kevin Clauberg, Chasida Taylor, Ed Whitacre and Allison White. The content of this show addresses a range of topics related to mental health.
Aura CuriAtlas, led by artistic director Joan Gavaler, was founded in 2013 and is known for collaborative creation and inventive blending of forms, including dance, theater, and acrobatics. The company keeps the qualities of lightness (Aura), strength (Atlas), and play (Curiosity) at the center. Their wholeheartedness, risk-taking, and use of physical storytelling make Aura CuriAtlas stories meaningful, engaging, and thought-provoking, said Joan Gavaler. The company has toured in the U. S. and internationally, as well as presenting performance and workshops in digital spaces.
This production of “The Zombie Life” is made possible by funding from Washington and Lee University’s Glasgow Endowment.
