The Birth/Death project

The only thing all humans share is that we are all born and we all die. Yet we often feel disconnected, lonely, or isolated in our journeys through these experiences.

The Birth/Death Project seeks to change that, one story at a time, weaving our truths together.

Join us at the first public sharings of our work-in-progress performance piece!

All sharings are free to attend (donations accepted).

Friday, June 26, 7pm: The LAVA Center’s On the Boards Festival in Greenfield. Reserve tickets here. **This sharing is mask-required for audiences, with masks provided.**

Saturday, July 11, 1pm: Holyoke Public Library (Community Room)

Devised by: Ellen Morbyrne with Dorian Gregory, Rachel Hall, Trenda Loftin, Seth Olsen, Em Rawls, Jordan Reed, Lena Vani; inspired by interviews with folks across the Valley

Directed by Ellen Morbyrne

Performed by Dorian Gregory, Trenda Loftin, Seth Olsen, Em Rawls, Jordan Reed

A collage of stories, scenes, and vignettes inspired by the real stories local folks have shared with our project has been woven together to share with all of you. Joy, grief, wonder, fear, amazement, mess, glory, hilarity, pain, connection. Join us in remembering what it feels like to be truly human together.

Thank you to those whose interviews contributed to these first sharings:

Dr. Caballera Roca, Amie Hyson, Jan Maher, and many others!

Thank you to the following folks for their support in a variety of ways:

Toby Vera Bercovici, Ash Goverman, Becca King, Dan Morbyrne, Myka Plunkett, Linda Tardif, Julia V. Whalen, and many others!

The 2026 phase of this project is supported in part by grants from the Conway, Hadley, Holyoke, and Shelburne Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

An image of food in dishes spread across a wooden surface: crackers, meats, berries, cheeses, salad, bread, olives; a white stoneware plate with a painted fox and sprig of herb in blue; three arms seen reaching and serving food (2 light, 1 dark)

RLT members gather in 2025 to begin shaping the project, a brainchild of RLT co-founder Ellen Morbyrne

Share Your Story

interviews will continue after our first public sharings of the work-in-progress this june & july!

Stay tuned for when the oral history archive of the first wave of interviews will be available through Forbes Library in Northampton.

We are developing a new community-based performance and oral history project exploring our human experiences of birth and death.

We invite you to reach out to us to learn about our process and to schedule an interview so you can share your own stories about your experiences with birthing and dying.

The interviews will be preserved in a public archive and these stories will inspire a performance piece that we will present in our local communities across the Valley, first as a work-in-progress in the summer of 2026, then as a full production in 2027.

We will be scheduling interviews in ongoing waves, beginning in the spring of 2026. We can hold interviews at The LAVA Center in Greenfield, Forbes Library in Northampton, Holyoke Public Library, and Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke. Please let us know if you would like to participate but none of these locations are accessible to you.

A black background with an abstract dancing flame at center (orange, red, blue), and text in white letters naming the project and inviting people of all backgrounds and experiences to be interviewed about birth and death

Interview sessions will be conducted with care. Participants may remain anonymous if desired. No special experience is needed - everyone has a story to share!

If you are interested in participating, or would like to learn more, please contact:
Ellen & Lena at birthdeathproject@gmail.com

We welcome people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences.

Thank you for helping us build this project together, for all of us.

Meet Our Team

a closeup of a white femme person against a tan background; they have long dark hair, a nose ring, and dangling rainbow colored beaded earrings

Ellen Morbyrne, she&they

Co-Producer, Interviewer, Director

Many of Ellen’s loved ones have died over the years and she has given birth to two wild humans now taller than her. As a prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher and someone with several aging and dying parents, they are deeply invested in co-creating community around these powerful thresholds of birthing and dying.

a closeup of a white woman with long dark hair, brown eyes, and a white tank top against a red background

Lena Vani, she/her

Co-Producer, Recording Technician

Lena is planning to give birth in the next couple of years, so she is thinking a lot about it. Her mother had a near-death experience this year, and Lena has been caring for her through her recovery. This project gives her a space to think about these thresholds in close proximity to each other, as it directly relates to her life. 

a closeup of a white woman with shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, and a light pink top against a pale blue background

Rachel Hall, she/her

Assistant Producer, Recording Technician, Interviewer

Rachel spent a year caring for her father and sat with him at the time of his passing. She has volunteered for hospice and feels deeply connected to the threshold of death. She hopes to one day experience giving birth, but she needs some more time before fully committing to that decision.

a closeup of a Black woman with medium-length natural hair, gold hanging earrings, a nose ring, a large purple stone ring (hand is resting against cheek), wearing a black top under a yellow cardigan against a blue background

Trenda Loftin, she/her

Interviewer, Performer

Trenda knows intimately both anticipated and unanticipated death of close beloveds. She holds birth and death as two of the most sacred transitions a human experiences. 

She’s chosen to birth projects instead of humans.

a closeup of a white Latina woman with shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a nose ring, wearing a forest green top under a brown cardigan against a blurred background of a desk with books and other unknown desktop objects

Annie DelBusto Cohen, she/her

Interviewer

Annie has intimately experienced both birth and death of many beloveds. She is the mother of a fiesty young human and experienced birth during a pandemic in many unexpected ways. Her experiences of such have made her dedicated to living life to its absolute fullest. 

a closeup of a Latina woman with chin-length curly dark hair, brown eyes, a nose ring, and big hoop earrings, wearing a light-colored spaghetti-strap halter top against a background of a room with white walls and various household objects

Jordan Elizabeth Reed, she/her

Interviewer, Performer

Jordan went through a shift in her early twenties. Dealing with crippling depression, death was something she occasionally wished for. After years of self care, shadow work, and healing she has experienced a complete 180 and now fears death. Within the last year, her fiance has been battling an aggressive cancer. She now struggles with fearing for his death. Her hope is to release her fears. She does not think she wants to give birth, but is open to changing her mind.

a closeup of an older white woman with short grey hair, round dark-framed glasses, a black top, pale stud earrings, and a short white beaded necklace, against a blurred background of a room with red walls and a framed painting

Dorian Gregory, she/her

Performer

Dorian is sure we don't talk about death and dying nearly as honestly and vulnerably as we need to.  Widowed in her mid-40s, death  - though inevitable - still came fast and unexpected.  Theater - with all its ritual, community, expression - has become a place to explore and remember. "I've crossed the birth-hold and will one day cross the death-hold - meanwhile, all I can do is listen, love, and make-believe."

a closeup of a Black femme person with short natural hair, a septum ring, multiple rings and a watch (hand resting against temple), wearing a white tank top and a multi-colored neckerchief, against a blurred background of a wall of jarred herbs

Em Rawls, she/they

Interviewer, Performer

Em is a queer, black fat neurospicy femme therapist who hails from the gritty streets of Dorchester, Mass. Grief has been woven throughout her lifetime, both interpersonal and with community at large. Whether losing community, pets, people, or identities- these experiences have continued to be the greatest teachers in her life. They delved into the intersections of storytelling, grief, and ancestral practices as a grounding force in their daily life and a way to bring joy to the pain. Em feels super grateful for the opportunity to share her story and hopefully it resonates with others in the community. 

Seth Olsen, they/them

Performer

Seth has close personal experiences with death and birth. Seth believes that death and birth are universally experienced and the many ways we handle our grief or euphoria are what makes us human. 

A separate invitation:

We are looking for a few more folks (aged 18+) to join our team (as performers and/or conducting interviews). We are especially looking for folks in the following demographics to uplift the stories of the many identities in our Valley: men (cis and trans welcome), elders, native Spanish speakers, those who have given birth.

Reach out to us if you’d like to explore joining our teams.

The 2026 phase of the project is supported in part by grants from the Conway, Hadley, Holyoke, and Shelburne Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Flower and flame images by Dietmar Rabich from Wikimedia Commons.