The Damage is Done: A True Story combines theatre, dialogue, essay, video, music and dance into a multi-layered performance. Featuring Dr. Gabor Maté onstage with performer and writer Rita Bozi, the show weaves together the story of three different Gabors, all of whom emigrated from Hungary to Canada and shaped Bozi’s life. The audience is taken on a journey from a failed Revolution to a family in conflict, from The National Ballet School to Canadian punk rocker BB Gabor, exploring the impact of historical trauma.
The Damage is Done: A True Story
Starring Dr. Gabor Maté and Rita Bozi
CREDITS
Conceived & Written by ……………………… Rita Bozi, in collaboration with Ken Cameron, with additional insights by Gabor Maté
Performed by …………………………………….. Dr. Gabor Maté & Rita Bozi
Developed and Directed by ………………… Ken Cameron & Rita Bozi
Dramatrugy and Mentorhsip by …………. Peter Hinton
Production Design by ………………………… Sandi Somers
Production Management by ………………. Cameron Clowe
Company Management by ………………… Ailsa Birnie
Choreography by ………………………………. Helen Husak in collaboration with Rita Bozi
Sound Design by ………………………………… Richard McDowell
Costumes by ……………………………………… Rita Bozi
Special thanks to Steven Hegedus, Sandra Couldwell and Ralph Alfonso for information on BB Gabor.
The Damage Is Done has been presented at The Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse, The Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta and The Cultch in Vancouver.
Gabor playing himself, and Bozi playing a multitude of characters, explore the cultural history and family dynamics that results in depression, addiction and thoughts of suicide.
The performance reveals how the impact continues to haunt a family today. Healing, they find, comes from the ability to look at traumatic events from infancy and early childhood with humour and compassion, and to defuse the emotional charge that first arose in response to those events. Infused throughout the performance are Gabor’s challenging insights as evident in his writing and workshops.
“Understanding that even though the damage is done, we can defuse its impact, is crucial to healing,” Maté says in the final moments of the play.
This short documentary was filmed two days before the workshop production opened at the Banff Centre for the Arts in June 2014.
“More of a conceptual and emotional exploration than traditional theatre, The Damage is Done is highly personal and occasionally “meta”. The courage it takes to not only create, but to market and perform such a personally insightful piece is immense.”
— Plank Magazine
“Rita’s performance of “The Damage is Done” is a powerful, raw exploration…a tightly written, well-executed performance that left a tinge of both sadness and hope.”
— The Reykjavik Grapevine
“Bozi is an extraordinary storyteller.”
— John Jane
“She’s a live-wire of a physical performer.”
—Vancouver Sun
“The Damage is Done is performed with courage, grace, compassion, humour, joy and energy.”
— Plank Magazine
“The Damage Is Done presents so much of what I have to say very efficiently in an hour and a half.”
— Dr. Gabor Maté, Yukon News
The Damage is Done has been assisted by the Province of Alberta through Alberta Foundation for the Arts, its arts funding agency.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. Nous remercions le counseil des arts du Canada se son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 157 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.
Productive Obsession would like to acknowledge that an important role that arts funding plays in Canada is subsidizing not artists, but audiences. Without the support of these funding agencies, live performance in Canada would be excessively expensive. If you’ve ever seen a show on Broadway where seats are frequently $200 and $300 or even $400 apiece then you’ll know what we mean. The Canadian arts and culture sector employs more than 630,000 people and contributes over $46 billion to our economy.
© 2014 by PRODUCTIVE OBSESSION. Co-Artistic Conspirators Rita Bozi & Ken Cameron