PANDEMIC PUNCH
Submitted by: Pat Jones/ P. J. Edghill
Artist's Project Description: Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic one of the things that has haunted me is the rise in domestic violence. Global reports of women trapped in their homes with an abusive husband or boyfriend resulting in increased incidents of violence and even death, have added a darker, tragic strain to the our global mourning. These deaths are not considered in the tally of casualties.
I've always been intrigued by the idea that one person's hell could be another person's heaven thus the idea of the pandemic potentially saving someone intrigued me. Viola is a brilliant New Yorker with a PhD who married a less educated southerner who turns out to be abusive. The pandemic provides her a relief from the violence due to his paranoia and phobias and a chance to escape back to New York with her stepson Julian. The power dynamic shifts ...or does it?
Actor Assata Haki, who as a teaching artist has worked with victims of domestic abuse, worked tirelessly to embody Viola giving her warmth and depth.
Videographer, Robert David Jones brought his expertise as a visual arts curator to the project.
Artist's Bio: Pat Jones aka P.J. Edghill (www.pjproducer.com) started telling stories at young age. As an adult with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre that ability spread to many mediums giving her a multi media career that includes theatre, television, fiction and marketing as she learned how to tell the stories of people and brands. PJ has written, produced and directed plays in both Detroit and Off Off Broadway, New York.