A Finished Heart for Colleges & Universities

You will experience the utmost intimacy between Eliott and Chris, who are navigating the most critical point in their lives.

Eliott Cherry writes, "While caring for Chris, my husband of sixteen years, as he died at home of pancreatic cancer, I kept a journal of the tender, inspiring and often humorous conversations we shared. A Finished Heart is my performance of these actual dialogues, combined with narrative, poetry and a musical score."

"I felt like I was in the room," says a researcher from University of Chicago (see the video, "Audience Remarks," above or click here). Q Center in Portland, Oregon calls it "powerful, rich and raw – absolutely mesmerizing from start to finish." [more]

"Thank you so much for sharing such an intimate, personal experience and helping us to confront our own mortality. ... "Your performance about death and dying had important lessons about love and living. For this, I want to say thank you." [more] Sandra L. Caron, Ph.D., Professor of Family Relations, University of Maine, Orono

A Finished Heart is replete with gentle humor. "To be able to laugh in the face of dire circumstances is a gift, and you provided that for us amidst eloquent poetry, beautiful music and pithy dialogue." [more] Wil Kilroy, Actor/Director, University of Southern Maine

"The level of raw emotion shows Eliott's ability to connect with any audience." [more] Karen Pierce-Stewart, Executive Director, Cancer Care Center of York County, Maine

Read how A Finished Heart inspires bonding:
"Thank you, Eliott, for creating space within my heart and the hearts of many to give and receive love in ways unimagined." [more] Mary Elizabeth Peterson, Portland, Oregon

A Proven Model for Colleges
and Universities:

With great educational value across disciplines such as nursing, social work, education and psychology, A Finished Heart provides unique opportunities to build student audiences and assist with funding.

At the University of Maine, Orono, the following departments reached out to students and faculty while also contributing from their budgets:

School of Nursing
School of Social Work
Education and Human Development
Psychology
Communication and Journalism
School of Performing Arts
Center on Aging
Employee Assistance Program
Men's and Women's Centers and Theology Departments would be excellent additions to this list.

A Finished Heart invokes the power of narrative medicine:

"It will increase empathy and cultural competency, leading to improved health care quality" [more] Timothy J. Richardson, MD, VA Maine Healthcare System

"this powerful piece allowed us to learn from a narrative of experience, gave us insights that we might not otherwise uncover and opened important dialogues" [more] Susan B. Sepples RN, CCRN, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Southern Maine School of Nursing

"a real life view of many concepts with which we deal frequently in social work classes: self-determination; loss; love, including same-sex love; relationships; negotiation; death; spirituality; empowerment; self-care; and authenticity." [more] Sandy Butler, PhD, Professor of Social Work, University of Maine, Orono

A Finished Heart is followed by discussion with the audience. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce students to counseling staff, who may wish to facilitate.

University event planners may wonder:

A Finished Heart reveals an experience of dying. Mortality is a difficult subject. Will students want to engage with this? But also ask, do students want to engage with love?

You are infused with love while experiencing A Finished Heart, helping you delve into what life must bring us all. A Finished Heart impresses you with the value of being vibrantly aware of mortality. We cannot know when and how these experiences will occur: giving and receiving care, dying and living with loss. Take this unusual opportunity to empathize with real experience through live, dramatic expression and discussion:

to pose questions one cannot normally ask;
to be present for a depth of intimacy that is rarely shared with the outside world;
and to taste realities that are impossible to imagine.

For students who, themselves, are in the throes of similar challenges, this is a chance to build community -- to feel and be reminded that we are not alone.

Sandra L. Caron, Ph.D., Professor of Family Relations, University of Maine wrote, "I have to admit that I found myself feeling a bit anxious as the lights dimmed, the music began, and you started to speak. Clearly, it reflected my own discomfort with death and dying. But my anxiety quickly subsided as you drew me and other audience members into your personal world, sharing not only the sorrow and pain, but also the peace and love." [read full letter]

Dear Students,

Please join me in this beautiful story that will expand your connections with each other and with profound aspects of life. I will be bringing you into true experience, intimacy and expression that society normally encourages us to keep hidden. It is a great honor to present A Finished Heart to all those who enter the world of Chris and Eliott and who may share their own stories with generosity and trust.

Sincerely,

Comments About A Finished Heart

This was a wonderful experience for me and my friends ... I hope my boyfriend and I stay together and be as happy as you two were.
It meant a lot to me. It really showed me how brave someone can be to share something so personal with people he doesn't even know.
Most touching, loved it. Entertaining, I had tears, smiles, laughter, and calm — loved it. I could feel your love for Chris in every word.
It meant a lot to me, I could relate in many ways to your story. How real you were about it. It made it seem you were actually talking to your husband.
The story and performance was very emotional. it made me think of how things are for other people and how people only think about themselves. [The discussion] was very heavy and in depth. I really enjoyed his openness and [being] willing to talk about one of the hardest things he went through and telling us that it was part of his coping ... to share his story with others.
The performance meant a lot to me, since I have a really hard time dealing with the death of people close to me. Hearing this performance really helped me get an understanding of the grieving process.
The performance meant (in my opinion) that, getting over the grief that seems to swallow your soul, is a lot harder, but, you can get through it. The experience was really cool. I thought that the questions were very emotional. It let me relate to the people and the story better.
The performance was very heartfelt and inspirational to me. The experience was one of a kind and extremely helpful in learning how some people cope with the loss of a significant other, and the step that they take before losing them.
The story itself was beautiful. I found myself crying most of the time. The story showed true love and how difficult it is letting them go, but helping them leave can also be a reward. I thought the piano added a touch of surrealism and the light truly brought a piece of Chris into the room. I loved the performance and would love to see it again. The post-performance discussion was very enlightening. We got to hear others and some of their stories and how to cope a different way with death.
Brought back a lot of feelings for me of when I lost my great, great grandfather. It was really hard when I lost him. Talking about it more I got really to understand more about how other people are affected by similar things. When we were talking I started to share but it really got me teary eyed thinking about what it was like when he passed.
I am exhausted. A wonderful experience.
It was an amazing performance and I was really moved by this, I don't know how I could handle a thing like that. It was nice asking questions on how you felt and how you got through this.

A Finished Heart is Easy to Book and Produce

No need to organize travel and accommodations. Eliott takes care of it all.
Simple contract. A single fee covers everything: performance, travel, hotel.
Can be presented in spaces ranging from small classrooms to full-size theaters. No stage required.
Technical needs are few: an audio hookup from Eliott's laptop and wireless mic to your sound system, and basic illumination for the performance. Eliott brings a simple lighting effect that does not require an in-house lighting console.

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Strengthens the empathy needed for complete acceptance of LGBTQ+ lives on campus
Increases cultural understanding and competency in health care
Models compassionate communication
Provides an inspiring window into intimacy
Validates deep feeling and emotional expression
Introduces students to counseling staff, who may wish to facilitate post-show discussion
Features post-show dialogue with the author/performer, who shares authentic, lived experience and welcomes your thoughts, feelings and stories.