No performance fee! More details here.
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Consider the following questions for class participation, relevant to grade-specific objectives:
Objective:
Describe a range of ways to express affection
within various types of relationships.
Questions:
Have you ever asked yourself, "How do I want to be loved?" In watching A Finished Heart, do you see Chris and Eliott demonstrating to each other how they each want to be loved? Describe specific examples. Do their desires always stay the same? Explain. How about writing a list of ways that you want to be loved? |
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Objective:
Describe characteristics of healthy and
unhealthy romantic and/or sexual relationships.
Questions:
From hearing the conversations between Chris and Eliott, do you view their marriage as healthy? Explain. There are many, wide-ranging emotions expressed in A Finished Heart. How would you describe them? Did any of the dialogues, emotions or attitudes shared by Chris and Eliott make you wonder if they were healthy or unhealthy? Let's discuss! |
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Objective:
Demonstrate communication skills
that foster healthy intimate and sexual relationships.
Questions:
How do personal values motivate what and how we communicate? Identify and differentiate between communication skills, content and values expressed in A Finished Heart. How do they intersect and work together? We will discuss and demonstrate by each choosing a personal value, assigning content we want to express that's aligned with that value, choosing a way to express it and sharing it with each other. |
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Objective:
Practice effective and appropriate
verbal and nonverbal communication skills
with peers and adults to enhance health.
Question:
What is one verbal or non-verbal communication skill you witnessed in A Finished Heart that you can use today? Why are you attracted to this particular skill? Suggest with whom, how and why you might use it. We'll each report back and discuss, tomorrow! |
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Objective:
Recognize diversity among relationships
including age, disability,
national origin,
race, color, marital status, sex,
sexual orientation and gender identity.
Questions:
What do you see in A Finished Heart as the driving force(s) behind the marriage of Chris and Eliott?
Does sexual orientation play any role in defining this? How and why ... or why not?
How might you extrapolate your perspective gained from this performance
to influence the way you regard relationships within
communities and cultures that are unfamiliar to you?
What do you see in A Finished Heart as the driving force(s) behind the marriage of Chris and Eliott?
Does sexual orientation play any role in defining this? How and why ... or why not?
How might you extrapolate your perspective gained from this performance
to influence the way you regard relationships within
communities and cultures that are unfamiliar to you?
Objective
(Mindset Standard):
A sense of belonging in the school environment.
Questions:
What does it mean to you that this piece is about two men in love, who are married to each other?
What does it mean to you that your school is presenting this piece?
What does it mean to you that this piece is about two men in love, who are married to each other?
What does it mean to you that your school is presenting this piece?
How else does A Finished Heart impact student life?
Teens live within a world of intensity.
A Finished Heart meets them in this world, validating their emotions and the expression of deep feeling. When school counselors serve as discussion facilitators directly after A Finished Heart, students become more aware of counseling resources in the context of sharing personal thoughts and feelings with their peers in safe space. When the public is invited to the performance, students benefit from hearing thoughts and feelings from people of all ages. |
"The students brought a sense of vulnerability and sensitivity to the discussion and after the performance they were visibly affected by the many messages that were conveyed by Eliott and his music.
At this age, young people are wrestling with the many meaning of life struggles and who they want to be as human beings. Discussions of death and relationships bring a deeper dimension to these personal journeys as they tug on all of our understandings that life and love have endings. The post discussions were rich in sharing of their own experiences. And they also offered a wonderful insight into the many levels of understanding that they received from the production, including the use of humor, anger and acceptance in the process of letting go. This is a beautiful performance that enriches the experience of living for all ages." -- Leslie Morrill, Assistant Principal, Edward Little High School, Auburn Maine (2013) |

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.
Take this unusual opportunity to empathize with real experience through live, dramatic expression and discussion to:
Take this unusual opportunity to empathize with real experience through live, dramatic expression and discussion to:
• pose questions one cannot normally ask;
• be present for a depth of intimacy that is rarely shared with the outside world;
• and to be inspired by the emotional gifts we receive from intimate relationships.
For people 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.
• be present for a depth of intimacy that is rarely shared with the outside world;
• and to be inspired by the emotional gifts we receive from intimate relationships.
For people 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.
Dear Teachers and Students,
Please join me in this beautiful story that will expand your connections with each other and with profound aspects of life. 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.
Please join me in this beautiful story that will expand your connections with each other and with profound aspects of life. 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,
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