An experiment: can our community’s collective brainpower help an idea become reality?
The intention
Once a week, actress Erica Gerard visits the homes of hospice patients in West Los Angeles. She sits with the patients and does whatever makes them feel comfortable: talk, listen to music, read a book, enjoy the silence, and more. As someone who only buys vintage furniture because of the stories each piece holds, Erica especially enjoys seeing the patients surrounded by all of their belongings.
Erica would love to record and perform their life stories. “People at the end of their lives are some of the most rich, complete and interesting treasures we have access to,” she says. “None of us have been there yet, but we’re going there, so tell us what it’s like.”
Though her deceased grandmother won't be in the audience, Erica knows she'd be proud: “I can hear her voice saying, 'You’re doing a mitzvah,' which is a good deed." (Photo: Alan Cleaver, Flickr/Creative Commons)
The obstacles
Erica hasn’t started. Here are the barriers she has identified:
- Interviewing people in hospice care can be logistically challenging. Her first patient passed away, and her second was unconscious much of the time.
- She doesn’t have an end vision of the show yet, and the options about artistic choice, direction, etc. can feel overwhelming.
- She prefers collaborative projects to working alone, and so far doesn’t have anybody to bounce ideas off of and propel her forward.
- There’s a whole world of medical confidentiality laws and issues she has yet to explore.
How you can help
Erica would to love see this project grow and succeed. Can you offer her any advice?
- Is this an idea that’s already been done somewhere in the world?
- What are some interviewing strategies to help draw out specific stories?
- What have you always wanted to ask somebody who is near the end of life?
- How should she approach this project so as to share stories without exploiting patients?
- How can she find allies and resources?
- What are some ways to stay focused when life’s distractions get in the way?
Leave a comment below and if the project progresses, we’ll keep you posted!
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Do you have an idea that’s just starting to brew? If you’d like us to consider posting it as part of this series, email celeste [at] idealist [dot] org.
