In less than an hour, Becky Poole has stumbled blindfolded on stage, played an accordion in a nurse's uniform, pounced around as Batman who plays a saw with a violin bow, re-enacted Paul Potts' performance from Britain's Got Talent and sung bluegrass a few times.
This is the solo actress's way of making sense of it all.
"murder, hope is about a six-year-old boy who has a rare brain disorder, Landau Kleffner Syndrome, that suddenly makes it difficult for him to speak or sing clearly," explains Lili Liu, PhD, Department Chair of Occupational Therapy at the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. She saw the play on its opening night in Edmonton on Aug. 13.
"The playis full of emotional content and challenges rehabilitation professionals to let down their professional guard in order to experience a neurological condition from the clients' personal perspective-especially from the perspectives of family members," says Liu.
In this case, the perspectives of the grandparents and an aunt, Poole herself. The Seattle actress's nephew Devin suffers from the neurological disorder.
"The pain and love is so intense and deep-one is left to imagine the feelings of the parents. This was realistically portrayed, and one could relate the experiences to any condition that strikes an innocent child and robs family members' hopes for that child's future."
While many from the audience have said they've been left confused after the play, Liu sees the complexity of a brain disorder conveyed realistically with many layers, and where the role of the rehabilitation practitioner comes in.
"After the mystery of a diagnosis is solved, the real work of living with a condition begins," she says. "This is extremely rare and most of us will probably never see a client with this condition. But our roles would be similar to roles with children who have other neurological conditions-we need to help families come to terms with the prognosis and prioritize and engage in activities most meaningful to the child."
After the show, Poole has a question-answer period for her audience, giving the audience and her opportunity to gain information and understanding.
"It is evident that she did this play out of immense love for her nephew. This strong family bond is inspiring," Liu says. "I think that in performing this play, she transforms herself each time and this is her way of trying to make sense of a condition even medical experts are not capable of."