The Waves

Abstract

In August 2018, there was a female orca who carried her dead calf to the surface of the Pacific Ocean for seventeen days. This kind of behavior had never before been documented. When the orca needed to feed or rest, her pod helped her carry the burden. During this time, the pod travelled more than 1,600 kilometres with the dead calf. Researchers say the orcas were in mourning and called this time their ‘Tour of Grief.’ Orcas are enormous mammals with the capacity to feel deep emotion. To Laura Quigley, this story speaks to the enormity of a mother’s heart and her fierce strength. It also speaks to the bond of the pod and their instinct to support one another, especially in the darkest moments. When Quigley gave birth to her second baby, she was struck by how isolated she felt. She was away from colleagues and many of her friends, and she lived far from her family because of her work. In speaking with so many mothers since writing this play, she understands that she was not alone in this feeling of segregation. As new mothers, we are without pods. The Waves dives into under-represented territory: loss of identity in motherhood, postpartum depression, and the rebuilding of self after giving birth. The text is poetic, raw, and urgent and explores ways the human voice can initiate understanding and connection between performer and audience, between humans. In this way, the text contains a detailed description of vocal sounds that depart from language, invoking the performer to explore relationship and communication beyond the conventions of speech and silence.