WHOLLY UNWINDING

Composer, librettist, performer

Hogfish Regenerative Arts Festival

Portland, ME

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McAvoy serves as composer, librettist, and lead performer in the world premiere of Wholly Unwinding, the chamber opera that tells the story of her life with cerebral palsy, and the revolutionary help she has found through the Alexander Technique. 

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From McAvoy:

Wholly Unwinding is an autobiographical story that delves into my experience of living with cerebral palsy. After eighteen years of receiving almost every standard treatment imaginable as a young person at great cost and to no avail, it was my education in music that led me to the Alexander Technique--a tool which has been almost miraculous for me. Through the gentle touch of AT, I have been able to reconnect to my body–a body I had rejected and tried to distance myself from because I was told so often by society that it was not good enough. The music and libretto of this work explore my own process of rediscovering embodiment, which began in Alexander lessons but ultimately expanded to include acceptance of my gay identity and reconciliation between the gift of my physical body and the intense spirituality which has always permeated my life.

 

Themes in the libretto include laying down defenses, finding my voice amidst the misogyny of the medical paradigm into which I was born, building trust with my community, remembering things I had pushed away, the hard work of my classes--a pilgrimage of sorts, the support that is possible in community, and, ultimately, a sense of blooming and expansion that is possible through healing. The action of the story follows a spiritual path which journeys from real scenes of my childhood into spiritual visions on my quest to truly inhabit my body. The visions lead through forests, oceans, volcanoes, storms, starry nights, deserts, and finally, gardens in bloom. The piece concludes with gratitude and hope for the future.