‘What it Means to be Free’ An Exploration through Verbatim Theatre

Published in All About Solo, 2019

excerpt:

“What It Means to Be Free,” created and performed by Willow Lautenberg at United Solo, is a piece of documentary theatre that takes a look at one man’s experiences with mental illness, the criminal justice system, and the abstract concept of freedom. The theatre piece follows the arc of this man’s arrest and journey from the prison system to a psychiatric center, and to his eventual release and involvement in Challah baking with a local community. Through her portrayal of this individual, and the composition of many verbatim elements, Ms. Lautenberg asks the audience to reconsider the titular question of what it means to be free…

Full review here