Presenting an ensemble theater piece based on the true stories of people who have reported near death experiences……
“Crossing the Veil and Coming Back to Life”
Ensemble: Eddie Allen, Robert Cornett, Laurie Portocarrero, Vincent Roppolo, Dasana Smyth
Location: Munson Memorial Library; 1046 South East Street, Amherst, Massachusetts
RSVP: Seating limited, please RSVP using the form at the bottom of this page.
Contribution: suggested contribution is $10 to $20 - no one turned away for lack of funds.
Please CONTRIBUTE HERE to reserve your seat.
Description: The stories follow a travel journey narrative starting with the “moment of death” when the characters have been declared clinically dead or experienced a medical crisis that brought them to the edge of death. This leads to a crossing of the veil between life and death where they had profound experiences and visions of life in the post-mortem realms. The journey concludes with a return to physical life and the challenges of sharing the experience with others and integrating it into their lives.
These remarkable and powerful stories bring to audiences a sense of the beauty, wonder and hope about what the continuity of consciousness and life after death may be like. The performance is a new work conceived by Robert Cornett and directed by Ted Pugh. It has been performed by a professional ensemble theater group, based in the Hudson Valley, New York, to multiple audiences over the past year including at the annual conference of the International Association of Near-Death Studies in Washington, DC.
The performance will be followed by a time to ask questions of the performers and have a discussion about Near Death Experiences (NDE)
Near-death Experience (NDE): Millions of people, perhaps tens or hundreds of millions around the globe, have died and then seen a bright light beckoning them, met and spoken with deceased relatives, felt inner peace (perhaps for the first time), seen their body at the scene of their death, and then returned to the world of the living to give a detailed description of what they saw and what they felt in the light. Thousands of these transformative experiences in the USA have been recorded and studied at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine. Do NDE’s indicate that life continues after mortal death?
NDE resources:
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/dops-media/video-near-death-experience-research/
https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/our-research/near-death-experiences-ndes/
Testimonials from previous shows:
“Watching "Crossing the Veil and Coming Back Again" was life changing for me. The intimate staging drew me deeply into the astonishing and powerful stories of these five people, all distinct and different but all describing such similar near-death experiences. Having seen this play, I find my perspective on life and death has widened and deepened. I hope that many, many people get to see this play.”
“This was an amazing experience. The way that each actor told their story was so powerful. I just got lost in it and each actor became their character so completely that I had to remind myself at the end that they weren't describing their own experiences. There were lots of moments of silence in our car on the way home and then bursts of questions and responses! Thank you for a very special experience!”
"Crossing the Veil and Coming Back Again” is a wonderful exploration of the depth and meaning of near-death experiences. Five deep experiences are retold in the first-person voice and masterfully interwoven and crafted like the facets of a jewel. These experiences give us insights into our true selves and the reason we are here on Earth -- to learn to love and to do our part to turn Earth into a planet of love. This production really speaks to the heart.” -- Robert and Suzanne Mays, NDE researchers
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