35 Comments
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Kosta Karakashyan's avatar

What a treat this piece is! Something to read over and over again, reliving this beautiful production and the mark you and the other performers left on it

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Thank you so much for reading Kosta, and for sharing in the splendor of the hotel! I am so grateful that we got to share some McKittrick magic together.

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Chase Mitchell's avatar

We all start naturally inquisitive. Questions and observations were the order of the day. As we age, that nature is slowly beaten of us, resulting in a shared social space where output is valued far above input despite the reality that garbage in means garbage out.

Sleep No More, and experiences like it, have reminded me of the wisdom I had as a child, and while I may not always successfully meet others where they are, my predisposition to assessing or asking others which colors we’ll be painting with together has been heartily reinforced. For that I will be eternally grateful.

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Chase! BLESS that fateful roundtable when you came waltzing into the McKittrick multiverse and forever etched your shining presence on our hearts! x

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Austin Wong's avatar

Ilana! This piece is so gorgeously written, nostalgic, profound and wise. Thank you for sharing with us audience members a glimpse of how it felt to be in the performer side of a 1:1. These are such cherished magical moments and memories for those of us fortunate enough to have been gifted them. It’s so wonderful to hear them described as being meaningful to you as a gifted as well. And I love how you have managed to wring actual practical real life lessons that can be applied to this chaotic world we are now living in. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts, both within that magical once-in-a-lifetime show, and even now in the real world when we need them even more.

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Austin! Thank you so much for these beautiful, generous reflections. I am so glad that we got to share McKittrick memories inside that spooky, splendid place. I cherish getting to hear audience reflections as well, as we performers are only one side of the looking glass! May there be more magic, more wonder, more curiosity, and more learning... within and beyond the world of theater! xx

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Rachel Kowert's avatar

What an absolute beautiful tribute to 14 years of magic. This is obviously going to be the intro to our book, right? Let's connect soon!

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

So grateful for our shared connection to literary and theatrical worlds, Rachel! Excited to continue weaving with you :)

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Jessica Layman's avatar

If they turn that building into condos I'm convinced that the residents will occasionally hear a deep thumping bass, and when they go to seek it out, the sound will be split by a woman's scream.

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

May the wafting scent of choco-blood permeate our delicious dreams always!!!

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Max Stossel's avatar

Your energy and time and brilliance and synthesis and words and eyes and heart are such a gift. This will bring emotional loop closure for so many who were so so touched and enlivened by this work of art ♥️

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

... but are you going to hand me chocolate while I'm performing? If not, what has this all been for?!

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John Stossel's avatar

Wow

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Rick! I am so lucky to have you as my soon-to-be father-in-law and I'm so touched by the way you champion my writing. I can't wait to take you and Ellen around Life And Trust!

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Justin "JB" Bolognino's avatar

Beautiful piece! So much insight. Keep them coming please!

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

JB you ol' so and so! Thank you, sweet one. Let's make site-specific mischief together in this sumptuous sandbox we call art / life / existence! x

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Hop's avatar

Thank you so much for this <3

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Thank YOU for letting your essence texture the world of the McKittrick / Sleep No More... may all of our shades live on inside those walls! xx

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Lisa Marie Basile's avatar

Art that stops existing on a physical plane leaves a hole inside of you. It's impossible, almost, to put the hurt somewhere.

But I know that it goes on forever in how it has changed the world; it must, it HAS to. It resonates inside of us as memory. It changed the world it existed in. We are carrying it within us. Thank you for this deeply beautiful ode, for your insights and experiences, and for sharing them. I am crying!

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Lisa! I love how deeply, how palpably, and how beautifully those memories live in and choose to express themselves through you. Thank you for your tears, your seeing, and your shared joy in this art piece we all loved so dearly! x

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Rick Slusher's avatar

What… a… eulogy. What a tribute. Exquisitely crafted and uniquely captured, like the show itself. Thank you from a (mourning) fan!

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Thank you so much for these kind words, Rick! I hope your heart is healing during this mourning process— sending you hugs from afar!

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Anna C.'s avatar

Thank you for creating magic. I will forever remember seeing you dancing in the woods.

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Anna, I'm so grateful that our souls collided inside that strange, beautiful world! Thank you for layering your magic into the McKittrick realm. xx

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Allie G's avatar

How absolutely beautiful. Thank you Ilana.

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Grits! Those 2am gentle wake-ups from my best gal. Those Witchy Waitress secret missions. Those endless events and Tiny Town chats. I love you so much and could not imagine the McKittrick without our memories together! x

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Allie G's avatar

It was so special. It still is so special what we did there : )

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Sara Plensdorf's avatar

A gorgeous, intimate, community-oriented reflection on something so few people (in the grand scheme of things) got to experience. The relationship between art and artist and audience is so beautiful!

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Sara! I'm so flipping grateful to officially call you my partner in crime nowadays :) Your creative, artistic brain is unstoppable and our strange, spooky, spectacular home wouldn't be the same without you! x

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Marcel Jackwerth's avatar

I never hunted for these moments but was lucky to be pulled into the hut by Audrey during my final visit. It was such a beautiful memory to end on. During those intense minutes, my immersion briefly broke and I wondered: how must it be for an actor to be in this role and space night over night again.

Thank you for giving us a glimpse and beautiful reflection into how you experienced the other side of these encounters.

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Marcel! Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful reflections. Audrey is a flipping F O R C E and one of the dreamiest, smartest, most sublime performers I know— I'm so glad you got to experience her magic up in ye olde hut. We performers only get to be one side of the coin, so I'm very grateful to hear your take.

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Jackie's avatar

So many shared thoughts... especially with falling in love with strangers. Its really incredible how quickly it can happen if you are put in the right space to really see and be seen. Ir to he in a space like SNM that is a container for that connection. Its incredible that theres windows. How beautiful.

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Ilana Gilovich's avatar

Jackie! I couldn't agree more with the beautiful way you articulated it: Sleep No More creates the "container for that connection," and we participants get to fill that space with all of our resplendent human textures. Thank you for lending yours to that magical world.

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