Why Runs The Abhisarika

What makes the Abhisarika (a heroine from Indian Sanskrit poetry) run to meet her lover on dark stormy nights through forests infested by snakes, demons, and other motifs? This picture recitation with visuals in set design, English spoken-word poetry, and Indian dance investigates the neuroscience of her passion. Just as in murder mysteries, we investigate what was happening when the Abhisarika ran out of her house. Just as six blind men describe an elephant, each motif reveals a fragmented truth about its role in the Abhisarika’s iconography, elucidated in a song. The audience is invited to choose the sequence of motifs to hear their songs and string the performance together.