Adrian Reif
Thomas: “Something we take for granted is how important it is to be vulnerable together.“
UW-Madison psychology grad Laura Thomas was on top of her game in 2011 when a family tragedy upended her plans.
Her only sibling, Scott Thomas, jumped from a building in New York City, where he was attending New York University’s Tisch School of Drama. He was in a coma for nine months, and after he awakened, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia; he later committed suicide.
In a cloud of grief, Thomas put off her goal of going to grad school and escaped to New Zealand, where Scott had spent three years after college. She worked as a breakfast chef in a cafe for a few years to give herself some space. After backpacking in Nepal and India for six months, the Minnesota native returned to Madison. When she stalled out on writing a memoir, she turned to theater. As an undergrad, Thomas had taken acting classes, but she hadn’t considered theater a viable career option.
“It was a way to connect with him and to come back to my roots with storytelling and theater,” Thomas says.
Her one-woman play, who am I without you / / Transforming Grief Through Storytelling, is a tribute to her brother that is half performance, half public support group. She will perform it twice Nov. 19 at the Bartell Theatre, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“My job is to open that space of vulnerability and let everyone take away what they will,” Thomas says. “I want to dedicate myself to be a vehicle for talking about those things that are hard to talk about.”
Thomas first performed the play at the Atwood community creative space Threshold in fall 2015. The idea for the post-play discussion came from a friend and has since become integral to the performance.
“From that discussion, a whole new experience emerged,” Thomas says. “People listen to the story and tap into the emotional space. The power of seeing other people be vulnerable and holding people energetically — strangers — has a powerful effect.”
Thomas hopes the power of community is one takeaway from the play.
“Something we take for granted is how important it is to be vulnerable together. And then to realize that we can try relatively scary things and it’s going to be okay,” she says.
Laughter is an important part of Thomas’ performances.
“Life can be hard — we all face challenges — and one of the best medicines is to keep laughing and smiling. It’s allowed, even in grief,” she says.
Now a Colorado-based writer and editor, Thomas draws inspiration from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, and TED Talk presenter Brené Brown.
“They’re doing fantastic work in being vulnerable themselves and giving people tools to thrive instead of just getting by,” Thomas says.
