TEARS (extended)

As we sit together around a large table and chop onions together, we want to use the reflexive crying triggered by the onions as a springboard to discuss emotional crying—and thus talk about crying while we cry. Crying becomes a collective, public moment. A space of possibility emerges in which we practice and share both crying and talking about it. We believe that crying together brings us closer to one another. Why and how often we cry often reveals who we are and what matters to us.
At the heart of the project are questions of participation, empathy, and responsibility: Who cries, how often, and why? Who listens to whom, and who goes unheard? Who comforts, and who is comforted? And in what way? And why do crying and caring so often take place in secret?
The boundaries and hierarchies between the audience and the performers are shifted: Everyone cooks together, everyone cries together; the act of crying itself and the discussion about it become part of the performance. The performers act as hosts who guide the event—thus creating a performative, clear, and therefore safe framework designed to ensure that everyone feels comfortable.
Tears are a means of communication: They signal helplessness, pain, fear, or empathy and are meant to elicit supportive behavior from others. Emotions are translated into the language of the body. In today’s society, more and more people are crying alone. With TEARS, we want to counter this trend and provide a public space for what is often considered private crying and the reasons behind it. Why we cry is often attributable to social circumstances. Crying is often not an individual issue or self-inflicted, but rather an expression of social injustices. This imbalance is intended to be made visible at the event.
What good are my tears if no one sees them?