Citation:
Darling, D.M.G. (2026). Take my hands. Performance presented at the Western States Communication Association (WSCA) annual conference, Performance Studies Interest Group. San Diego, CA.
Abstract:
Take My Hands is a participatory performance that explores the embodied act of sharing and transforming grief through the practice of what I call haptic grief transfer; the intentional taking of another’s sorrow through physical touch. In a socio-political moment defined by ongoing genocide, ecological collapse, violent transphobia, and other intersecting forms of systemic oppression, this work creates a space where collective mourning becomes possible. Audiences are invited into an intimate encounter where grief is not simply witnessed but held, carried, and transmuted.
Grounded in queer and feminist theories of care, the performance rejects neoliberal imperatives toward resilience and productivity, insisting instead on the radical necessity of slowness, vulnerability, and interdependence. Through intimate hand-to-hand contact and silent presence, participants and performers co-create a temporary site of healing; one where grief is no longer privatized but recognized as a shared condition of living in this world.
Take My Hands asks: What happens when we allow ourselves to be touched by another’s pain? Can the simple act of holding hands create pathways toward collective survival? Through this embodied practice, the performance gestures toward futures where communal care interrupts cycles of isolation and despair, offering a tender counterpoint to the ongoing violences of our time. By centering the body as a conduit, Take My Hands invites audiences to participate in an experiment in feeling in which grief moves between us, through us, and ultimately beyond us.
VIDEO COMING SOON
