An immersive audio experience about grief, loss, and transformation
This story is told through a series of voicemails
They've been left for a mother who has recently passed away. The messages tell the story of their adult child who is navigating gender transition. A child fully grown but in some ways embarking on a second coming of age. It shares the triumphs and challenges of life and a longing for a maternal figure to help guide them.
The audience is invited into a dark space, a table is lit, and they are invited to sit and listen. The table is strewn with the daily ephemera of life. Nail polish remover, a coffee cup with a lipstick on the rim, some hershey kisses.
This story is my story. It comes from one of the most challenging and transformative periods of my life.
My mother passed away from cancer just as I was beginning my gender transition. As a result, she only briefly saw the earliest version of who I was becoming.
In the years after she died I continued my transition but felt the profound loss of her maternal guidance as I became someone new. Over time a ritual emerged that helped me move through the grief and stay connected to her. That small ritual blossomed into the heart of this work.
We live in an age filled with news clips and social media posts about transgender identity and politics. Most of what people see of trans lives is distilled into soundbites and facts that are heard, but rarely felt, and rarely show what trans lives are actually like.
My goal with this piece is the opposite: to slow time and build empathy. To bring audiences into the visceral emotional landscape of grief and let them move with me through my journey.
Brynn Caputo
they/them
Brynn is an experience designer whose work invites audiences to be vulnerable, to be curious, and to be open to change. Brynn brings authenticity and emotion to their practice, offering their own vulnerability to help others lower their walls and connect more deeply with their experience.
An alumni of Odyssey Works, Brynn’s experiences are grounded in a process of rigorous empathy and research. Through detailed immersive props, improvisation, humor, and vulnerability, Brynn uses every tool at their disposal to create emotionally impactful experiences.
I am currently looking for venues to host this piece. If you are interested please let me know!
Would you like to experience it yourself? Please reach out! I am working on ways to share it more widely and would love to speak to you.