[yellow signs are taped to the front door and the hand rails on the front porch. These signs read:]
FYI Don't feed the bears (or do so at your own risk). If you want someone to speak the content of these posters to you verbally, please ask.
There will be discussions of psychiatrization, medicalization, psychiatric medications, pain, trauma, queerness, suicide, among other things.
There is one camera in the space (above the bookshelf). If you do not want to be on camera, please put your name down on the list at the front door and we will ensure you are not recognizable in any shots that will be shared publicly. Footage may be hosted (likely in timelapse form) on a webpage about Mad Home.
There is one audio recorder in the bathroom so you can talk to bananas. There is another audio recorder in the bedroom with Nathan - they will ask consent to record with you.
We ask that you ask people for their preferred gender pronouns (e.g. if people use they/them, she/her, he/him) before you assume their pronouns.
There are invitations around the home that outline some of the ways you can participate. If you don't know what they mean, feel free to ask.
If the number of people in the home feels overwhelming we may ask you to spend some time in the yard if needed.
There is a tent outdoors if you want some dark quiet space. noise cancelling headphones are available if you need noise alteration/reduction
We Acknowledge
[Nugget, a spotted dog, peers through the window of the back door. A door mat with two owls. A white sign with black lettering on a purple wall next to the door reads:] We acknowledge that the land we gather on is Amiskwacîwâskahikan, a traditional meeting ground and home for many Indigenous Peoples, including Papaschase, Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Métis, Ojibwe, and Nakota Sioux.
We acknowledge and hold space in our home for those of us who could not be here in physical form today.
We acknowledge our peers across time and space - who did, are doing, or are desiring this work, who may be or have been prevented from doing it, and those who will do it in the future.
[A purple wall with an old-school telephone shelf stacked with books. Ahmed's "Living a Feminist Life:" and Cvetkovich's "Depression: A Public Feeling" face outward. A green sign with black writing reads:]
IN OUR MAD HOME WE INVITE YOU TO - take opportunities for taste, smell, touch and movement sensory exploration - communicate your boundaries, desires + needs, and respect those of others. For example: ask if folks would like company or to be alone, share if you would like company or to be alone, pay attention to folks' name tags, make yourself multiple name tags, etc. [see below for more on name tags] - practice explicit consent to touch or interact with others in the space. - choose how you want to participate in any, all or none of the performance offerings - be in the space as a witness - have any, all or none of the feels - feel free to bring all of your bodies, minds, and coping mechanisms (if you want to smoke, please take a walk down the block) - Danielle is available to talk something through, support your needs, answer any questions, tell you where something is, or help you navigate the home - Come and go (and come back) as you please.
Please write thoughts, reflections, things that belong in your Mad Home -> on the coloured [index] cards
[another bag of chips on a couch. tiny colorful rectangles of paper with performance invitations typed on them. a box of kleenex. a bowl full of bright orange ear plugs. a purple scarf with silver dots. on top of the scarf: name tags a nearby index card reads "mad home work"]
We invite you to wear a colour-coded name tag, and to write a personal or social need or desire on it. Red bordered tags mean "please don't interact with me". An example is: I need to be alone around other people
Yellow bordered tags mean "please approach me carefully" An example is: I need - hugs (ask first); - no small talk
Green bordered tags mean "please pay attention to me" An example is: Please pay attention to me! I need attention and praise