Waist High & Elbow Deep (WHED) presents performers as surrogates, objects, and proxies – directed by viewer participants. The project is lead by Megan Young, a 2016 Community Partnership for Arts & Culture (CPAC) Creative Workforce Fellow. It includes an original sound score by Megan Elk (former NWPL member) whose work as Miss Alexandra Huntingdon has earned her the distinction of both Best Singer and Best Musician from the Cleveland Scene’s Best of 2015.

The WHED event includes interactive games and reveals how public performance is a form of physical contact. It dismantles typical performance methods and highlights the fluidity of gender in the body and society. What starts as a straightforward game of musical chairs progresses into a metaphoric live dissection. It becomes clear that just under the surface of the fun and games many real life concerns are pressing to be heard. Indeed, the event ends with a series of ritual, one-on-one monologues delivered to each audience member.

This project has been developed with support from the Chicago Department of Arts & Culture / DCASE In The Works Residency and is being generously presented by the Center for Applied Theater and Active Culture (CATAC) in Akron, OH.

Director and performer, Megan Young, is part-time faculty at Kent State University and theater/dance faculty at Beck Center for the Performing arts in Lakewood, OH. She is joined by performers Angela Luem and Meghan Murphy-Sanchez of Chicago, Penelope Hearne of New York, and local artists Amanda Clark Tanruther (MFA Case Western), Trina Hines (MFA New York University), Emily Austin (BFA University of Akron), and Marcia Custer (BA Kent State).

MegLouise has been presenting works in NE Ohio since 2006, including notable venues Playhouse Square Center, Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland Public Theatre, and Breen Center for the Arts. MegLouise has presented at national and international venues, including Junction Arts Festival, DUMBO Dance, RADfest, and Philly Fringe Festival. The collective presents movement and new media works in exhibition, concert, and public settings.