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"As Much As I Can," An Immersive Theater Experience, Sponsored by ViiV Healthcare
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Posted August 23, 2019 by Jackson
immersive theater experience that explores the real-life stories of gay and bisexual Black men living with or affected by HIV in Baltimore, Md., and Jackson, Miss. Ð two cities hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. The show follows a day in the life of a group of friends, introducing the audience to a tight-knit community where the church is ever present, family is complicated, and history is hard to escape.
Created by Harley & Co., a NYC creative studio, and sponsored by ViiV Healthcare, the show is based on research findings from ViiV Healthcare's ACCELERATE! Initiative, which supports projects that aim to improve outcomes for Black gay men living with HIV in Baltimore and Jackson. For tickets visit: bit.ly/2KCRhkR All ticket fees go directly to The Public Theater.
Event Date
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Event time
9:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Cost / donation
$25
Website
https://www.amaicny.
com/
"As Much as I Can" represents breakthrough programming that echoes the key research findings from the ACCELERATE! Initiative and amplifies the voices of Black gay men living with or affected by HIV. The event first debuted in Baltimore and Jackson, Mississippi, in January 2017.
given that it's 2018-when it's estimated that in the near future, 1 in 2 black gay men will test HIV-positive in their lifetime-it's clear that the face of the conversation needs a serious makeover.
"As Much as I Can" invites audiences into the lives of four Black gay men, exploring the complex relationships they have to faith, family, community, friends and themselves. Audiences are also invited to experience the disruptions, dreams, disappointments and resiliencies of these men's lives.
The stories told in "As Much as I Can" are based on real shared, lived experiences from Black gay men of Baltimore and Jackson. Community captains - Black gay men living in Baltimore and Jackson - facilitated community-listening sessions where men shared their experiences, and these stories serve as the basis for many of the scenes and interactions in the immersive experience.
As Much as I Can, a collaboration between ViiV Healthcare and design and branding studio Harley & Co., centers on black gay and bisexual characters from the South and colorfully explores the intersections of HIV/AIDS, racism, faith, masculinity, homophobia, stigma and resilience. The production, which debuted May 8 at the Harlem Parish, is also an immersive theater experience that breaks down the fourth wall, allowing the audience to enter the characters' complex and private world through boldly colorful rooms, including a living room, a clinic and a nightclub.
This unconventional way to consume art allows for people to have a more intimate and deeper connection to the stories being told, Sarah Hall, the play's writer and the founder of Harley & Co., tells The Root.
"Because you're in such an intimate setting, it's as if you're actually experiencing what's going on," she says. "It feels as if you're sitting in that church pulpit waiting on that sermon or in the living room listening to a mother and son fight about him being gay, or witnessed the man confront the man that gave you HIV."
She adds: "I find that we often separate ourselves from others, but with the immersive aspect, it's impossible to do that. You can't walk away without asking yourself how complicit you are in what is happening to these men."
As Much as I Can is funded by ViiV's Accelerate!, a four-year, $10 million, collaborative health-impact initiative that works to support the health and well-being of African Americans. It's an extension of the ethnographic report "Meet Me Where I Want to Be" (pdf), which highlights the voices and experiences of more than 300 black men who have sex with men (or MSM) in Jackson, Miss., and Baltimore, two cities that have been hit hard by HIV/AIDS.
"We found that a lot of men did not want to be labeled as gay; they just wanted to be them. We also found that many of the men encounter stigma in places like the church, the barbershop and at home. We wanted a deeper understanding of how this impacts their lives, HIV risk and how they see themselves," explains Marc Meachem, ViiV Healthcare's head of external affairs.
"While there were stories of hope, there was this overwhelming belief that being a black man in the South was one strike, being gay was another one, and being HIV-positive was the third and final strike," Meachem continues.
From there, ViiV conducted focus groups of roughly a dozen men in each city to see if its findings were on par with their own experiences. The answer was not only a definitive yes, but even more stories began to flow, which later served as the foundation of As Much as I Can.
"So many times it feels as if our culture is for sale, but what makes our play so amazing and transformative is that it is grounded in our truth on our own terms. And outside of Moonlight and Tongues Untied, it's rare that we get to see that," Meachem adds.
And while the voices in As Much as I Can are grounded in the Southern African-American experience, Meachem isn't concerned that they won't resonate with a New York City audience.
"New Yorkers try to think that their lives are different, but we're not all that removed from the Great Migration, and not everyone in New York is from New York," he says. "That, and here there is a high level of homelessness, with [LGBT] teens getting kicked out of their homes for the same reasons as in the South. So, yes, this audience will definitely relate and be moved by what they see."
To further ensure its authenticity, there was a serious vetting process after the script was written that included crucial feedback from doctors, pastors, HIV/AIDS advocates and other black gay men, Hall stresses:
We were given a lot of notes on what worked and what didn't, which Scriptures pastors would use, specifics on how one would get an HIV diagnosis in a clinic setting, and certain phrases some men felt they would or wouldn't use. Even the cast weighed in. This was truly a collaboration of over a hundred people, and I am so grateful for this experience.
"What struck me from the focus groups was that in various forms, so many men told me that they didn't matter and that no one cared about them," Hall says. "How do we live in a world where this is true?
We have to do more to love, support and show up for our black gay men."
https://www.theroot.com/powerful-immersive-play-as-much-as-i-can-brings-voices-1826023725
Immersive theater experiences are designed to break down "the fourth wall," placing viewers in the midst of the action, giving them the opportunity to explore settings and human interactions as if they were experiencing them firsthand. This approach triggers an emotional and cognitive response that is unique from passive viewing and has been shown to change how the subject and/or subject matter are perceived.
"As Much as I Can" was co-created with and about the Black gay men of Baltimore and Jackson. The immersive experience was conceived, co-created and produced by Harley & Company, a NYC-based creative studio, with guidance from ViiV Healthcare and TCC Group, and is sponsored by ViiV Healthcare.
About ACCELERATE!
Aligned with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, ACCELERATE! is ViiV Healthcare's four-year, $10 million commitment to support innovative community projects that focus on improving HIV outcomes for Black gay men in two cities hardest hit by HIV - Baltimore and Jackson.
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Since the immersive theater experience "As Much as I Can" (AMAIC) debuted last year, it has engaged more than 1,500 attendees to start a larger conversation about the gaps in HIV prevention, treatment and care for Black gay and bisexual men. At the World Congress' Patient Congress on March 20 in Philadelphia, AMAIC received national recognition by receiving the Excellence in Patient Engagement award.
World Congress brings more than 250 healthcare industry leaders together at its annual Patient Congress to discuss ways to better meet patient needs across the entire care continuum. In partnership with WEGO Health, it introduced the Patient Choice Awards this year to acknowledge organizations and programs that "demonstrate measurably better and more transparent health outcomes and promote a better patient experience." The Excellence in Patient Engagement award recognizes an initiative "designed to create innovative, scalable strategies to improve patient engagement and optimize medication adherence," or a program that offers "inter-disciplinary ways to co-create health solutions that engage patients to be an active participant in their health management."
"This award means a great deal to our organization, but it truly belongs to the men of Baltimore and Jackson," said Kali Lindsey, senior manager for External Affairs North America, who was on hand to accept the award on behalf of ViiV Healthcare. "Their stories are rich, the need to hear them is great-and "As Much as I Can" would not have been possible without them. ViiV Healthcare is proud to amplify their voices to help break down stigma, increase engagement in care, and improve health outcomes for Black gay and bisexual men."
AMAIC, a key component of ViiV Healthcare's ACCELERATE! Initiative, was co-created with and about Black gay men in two cities hardest hit by the HIV epidemic: Baltimore, MD, and Jackson, MS. It was borne from original ethnographic research with 30 Black gay and bisexual men in both cities, and dozens of men helped nuance the AMAIC narrative around their lives and the challenges they face regarding stigma, love, family, faith and self-acceptance. These stories became the basis for many of the scenes and interactions in the immersive experience.
"Initiatives like ACCELERATE! are one way ViiV Healthcare goes beyond our medicines to help close the gaps in care for communities most affected by HIV," said Eric Dube, head of ViiV Healthcare North America. "As the only company solely focused on HIV, we must continue our work with the HIV community and design innovative approaches that address stigma and break down barriers to care for all people living with HIV. We're grateful to World Congress and WEGO Health for the recognition as it inspires us to do more to end the epidemic."
AMAIC will open for a three-week run in New York City on May 8 at the historic Harlem Art & Culture Space.
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ABOVE: Kali Lindsey accepts the Excellence in Patient Engagement award on behalf of ViiV Healthcare, the ACCELERATE Initiative and "As Much as I Can".
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