Catherine Siller

“The Mysteries of Life: a Queer Nature Walk” is a theatrical dance performance that uses true stories of animals’ social interactions and mating rituals to challenge heteronormativity and celebrate gender diversity. It aims to affirm queerness and transness as natural and to invite all audience members, regardless of gender identity, to rethink Western gender norms.

A Deaf narrator uses gestural communication and ASL (translated to spoken English by an interpreter) to guide audiences on a 45 minute walk. They start outside and then move into a performance space with video installations of natural habitats. Along the way, they encounter performers depicting animals through movement-based duets and trios. The dancers’ movements play off of the narrator’s gestures and signs, creating a visual link between the narrator and the dancers. This visual link – along with original music – emphasizes the animals’ humanity and helps the audience connect to them.