Thistle
La MaMa ETC, New York, 2012
Thistle centers on the testimony of a survivor, Rufina Amaya. Over the course of three days in December 1981, the army of the government of El Salvador killed nearly everyone in Rufina’s village of El Mozote. Clinging to her hiding spot, Rufina was forced to watch the massacre. Thistle is both Rufina’s story and an exploration of how we as human beings greet—and then process—terrible information. Once we are tuned in to the full horror of an event, what do we do with this awareness? How do we carry the burden?
By Erik Ehn
Sets, Lights, Music & Sound: Tom Dugdale
Costumes: Cybele Moon