Category: The Star of Happiness and the Helen Keller Project Blog

The Star of Happiness was first performed in July 2011 at the Under St Marks Theater as part of Horse Trade’s miniFRIDGE. Developed as a research and performance project, this one woman, two voice, three act play is a strange and wonderful amalgamation of my academic and performing lives, inspired and informed as much by books as by the mad mad artists of the East Village and Lower East Side.

The Helen Keller project Blog was conceived of in a conversation with the inimitable force that is Mark Fullmer who, when I said that I had done so much research on the subject that the performance could only hope to engage with a tiny portion of all the crazy shit I’ve learned since that fateful day when I happened to find a tiny paragraph that mentioned and then quickly dismissed Helen’s time on vaudeville, suggested that I create a blog. So, here it is the loosely autobiographical and quasi philosophical history of an idea.

The Sea Spells, Helen Keller’s Favorite Books

“Books have been my most intimate companions,” wrote Helen Keller in a letter to a suitor in 1922. There can be little doubt that Helen derived much pleasure from the solitary communion of reading. That much of this pleasure was escapist in the extreme, she freely admits, “More than at any other time, when I hold a beloved book in… Read more

Disability Pride Parades Matter

Disability Pride Parades celebrate difference, explode stigma and combat shame!   If you did not know that Disability Pride Month came to a close yesterday, you would be forgiven as, in NYC at least, it is only a year old. Mayor de Blasio declared July to be Disability Pride Month last year in honor of the 25th anniversary of the… Read more

Helen Keller on Vaudeville Provides Fodder for a Lifetime of Art!

Yes! Helen Keller really did perform on vaudeville stages for four years (1920-1924). I stumbled across this odd fact while finishing up my PhD (in 18th Century English literature) and tucked it away for further investigation. That investigation–into Helen’s motivations and the reaction of others to her short-lived but startling career move–became The Star of Happiness: Helen Keller on Vaudeville?!… Read more

Sewing Blind, Refashioning perceptions

My blind sewing adventure began about seven years ago when on a whim I searched for, and found, sewing needles at MaxiAids, a website that sells disabled people gadgets. As with so many of the great things that have happened in recent years to enhance my life as my sight fails, the technology inspired the activity and the activity inspired… Read more

The Star of Happiness Teaser & Show/Lecture Description!

“At first it seemed odd to find ourselves on the same bill with acrobats, monkeys, horses, dogs, and parrots; but our little act was dignified and people seemed to like it.” – Helen Keller from Midstream Historical fact and schoolyard humor collide in dr. michelle-leona godin’s autobiographical treatment of Helen Keller’s time on vaudeville. This one woman, two voice, three… Read more