Because as a child, trauma used to visit me between the sheets. – From “Coping” by Wes Ryan
For years, local performer Wes Ryan has been very candid about his past substance abuse, being a survivor of sexual abuse, and living with a brain injury.
However, when Wes felt his story was misinterpreted on stage late last year by a theatre group, he was prompted to create These Are Horizon Days, his first full-length show in 15 years, which runs from August 3rd to 5th at The Theatre on King in downtown Peterborough.
In These Are Horizon Days, Wes reclaims his own story while looking at the way sensitive topics are presented on stage, as well as shared with the community, in a safe way.
“About a year ago I got really busy traveling around Ontario and doing spoken word on top of studying at Trent,” Wes says. “As the workload increased, I wasn’t quite on top of things that I should be, such as my brain injury which has its own challenges.
“I shared my abuse story with a theatre group for part of a show about sexual assault and the justice system, but the way they presented my story was traumatic for me.
“I soon realized I did not possess the resilience needed to deal with the situation. These are Horizon Days is, in part, an exploration of that experience while reclaiming my personal narrative. It’s a way for me to explore resilience and to also engage the audience on a discussion about how we stage sensitive stories — how we deal with traumatizing content in front of an audience.”
Alongside Wes, These Are Horizon Days also features actress Hilary Wear and musician D. Dmuchowski on cello.
“Horizons are a bit frustrating,” Wes says, explaining the title of the show. “We say that things are ‘just over the horizon’, or ‘reach for the horizon’, or ‘shoot for the horizon’. While those statements are encouraging, you can never reach the horizon. As soon as you do, the horizon is beyond you again. So it’s something that you have to always go after.
“Recovering from trauma is a lot like that. You get to a place where you feel grounded and stable and then events can happen and, depending on your adaptability and your stamina at the time, you can falter.”
For Wes, the creation of art and performance has always been a way to deal with the difficulties that he has faced throughout his life. These Are Horizon Days is a very bold and very public way to open up about not only his past, but also his present.
“The through line in all my life has been art making. As a kid it was a defense mechanism, and it was also a way to interrupt the violence in my home. As an adult I put on shows so we can talk about social issues, such as domestic violence, abuse, addiction, poverty and mental health. This is what I do. I’ve done some funny pieces, but most of the stuff I do is serious.
“I have a long history of presenting what I call trauma-informed theatre. When people from vulnerable backgrounds want to tell their stories, one has to be aware that much of the content could be triggering for that one person and it can be triggering for the audience.
“So you have to create a rapport and create safety and trust in the environment. As you work on the production, it’s key that you collaborate all the way through to show awareness about trauma.”
In These Are Horizon Days Wes speaks about various aspects of his past, but focuses on the sexual abuse he experienced when he was younger.
“I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, as well as many of the repercussions that come with that. I had a long history of addiction and I’m now thirteen years sober. Although the show is about my experiences, about what happened in my early childhood, about what happened in my adolescence — and goes through right to testifying about one of my abusers — the story is told in fragments. It’s told as though the audience is watching the show being assembled.
“One of the challenges is how I make some of this content humorous. There’s a lot of absurdity in my life, with a lot of it linked to my past. Trying to live with and move through a traumatic history, you encounter a lot of comic irony. For instance, it’s quite common that people who try to do this type of theatre can get harmed. You’re always vulnerable on stage, although for me it’s probably the safest space.”
One of the unique aspects of These Are Horizon Days is that Wes has developed the show using a variety of different performance techniques including theatre, spoken word, music, and dance. Wes explains how he uses these performance techniques on a daily basis as a way to focus on and remember material.
“I have a brain injury,” Wes reveals. “I am also on the Asperger’s scale and I am neurodivergent. So when I’m researching for an essay, I’ll be seeing dance. When I’m writing out what I’m going to say, I’ll be hearing music in the background. Because of my brain injury, in order for me to remember something I need to condense it into poetry. I’m trying to present this show compassionately, and in different forms of art because that’s how my brain works.
VIDEO: “Coping” – Wes Ryan at the 2013 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Montreal
“There are sequences where I have choreography to explore trauma. Then there are sequences where I tell my story in a spoken word format. For one of those, I am backed up by a cello. Then there are scenes with dialogue between me and Hilary Wear’s role of ‘The Drama Scourge’ who represents that self-talk voice we have. The show has elements of vaudeville and physical comedy, theatre, contemporary dance, and verbatim dance.”
One of the centrepieces of the show is a verbatim dance performance Wes has created around the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) questionnaire used to measure degrees of trauma and abuse experienced by both children and adults alike.
“It’s being utilized in the United States right now, and more and more in Canada. So if kids are acting out in school, you might ask them these ten questions. What they are finding out is that the higher that the kids rate out of these ten questions, the more likely it is that they will face various challenges including physical health, mental health, and emotional well-being. I score ten out of ten on the questionnaire. How often is it that we are perfect at something?
“One of the reasons I’m going to dance in this production is because trauma is felt in the body and dance is expressed through the body. It’s impossible not to be dancing on this planet. If you are breathing you are dancing. It’s impossible to be static. You are always dancing.”
But These Are Horizon Days is not just a way for Wes to present his story. The most important part of the performance is creating a discussion about how sensitive material should be presented on stage.
“It’s my story but the subject of childhood sexual abuse, and how we present dramatic stories on stage and approach these kinds of narratives, is what I’m inviting other people’s input on.”
While preparing his performance, Wes has kept the well-being of his audience in mind — especially those who have also experienced abuse or trauma during their life. He will have a counsellor present at every performance, as well as support information available at the theatre for those audience members looking for more help.
“I recognize a certain percentage of the audience will have their own trauma history. The show acknowledges this while striving to create a safe and trusting environment to explore trauma and resilience. The audience will have a choice about participating during the collaborative portion — collaboration being a key element of the trauma-informaed approach — and there will be support people on site.”
Although there will only be three performances of These Are Horizon Days, Wes reveals that he has bigger plans for the show.
VIDEO: “Icarus” by Wes Ryan (film by Michael Morritt, music by Jonathan Dowdell)
“I am presenting the audience a pitch for a longer show. I am hoping that this is the beginning of being able to bring this show to its proper staging, which would be a large stage with multiple performers.
“Moving forward, I want the show to be a venue for other people to tell their stories and explore their stories artistically. I want it to be a venue for service providers to feel that they can engage artists in this conversation, so we can better represent the issues they want covered. But more than anything, I want this to be accessible to people.”
These Are Horizon Days will be performed at The Theatre on King at 8 p.m. on Thursday, August 3rd and Friday, August 4th and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 5th. Tickets are $10 and can be ordered in advanced by email at thesearehorizondays@gmail.com or by phone at 705-875-4239. For more information, visit thesearehorizonday.wixsite.com/mysite.
