WHY THE GRIEVING PROJECT?I’m an artist and a playwright... And for 15 1/2 years, I’ve lived with chronic illness. Music and art are my lifelines; I just cannot stop creating. I kept so busy creating, I realized only recently, I forgot to grieve my illness. I have also been homebound many years, missing live theater, and had this vision of bringing live theatre to those like me through filmed stage performances, which sparked “The Grieving Project," a spoken word musical about finding your voice intended to bring radically accessible live and virtual theatrical experiences to those who can't attend live theatre. Ask yourself: what makes a live theatre experience? See, I’m driven to find ways to take the spectacle of live theatre - the visuals, the audio, even the feel of being in community with a live audience - and create comparable, immersive, engaging experiences for a virtual audience. But more than that... I believe access to these experiences should be universal, especially for those like me - disabled and chronically ill communities unable to attend live theatre due to access and risk. (See: https://thegrievingproject.com/musical)WHAT I AM SEEKINGBuilding relationships with producers, theater companies, directors, designers, tech companies, actors, foundations, disability, chronic illness, mental health communities, metaverse enthusiasts, who are equally passionate about accessible hybrid theatreABOUT MEI'm Lisa Sniderman, aka Aoede, a multi-award-winning San Francisco-based artist, playwright, disabled artist advocate, and I create-and often center characters with illnesses-to express, foster healing, elevate, empower and advocate for others with chronic illnesses and disabilities to improve their mental health and wellness, grieve and thrive. I've been honored with more than 100 accolades and awards for my songwriting, audiobooks, films, stage plays, voiceover and books against a fierce obstacle-while suffering from a rare autoimmune disease for 15 1/2 years: Dermatomyositis, a progressive muscle weakness disease, as well as primary immunodeficiency (CVID). Music and art are my lifelines, and I just cannot stop creating. I released my ninth studio album, The Grieving Project, August 2020, which sets the stages of grief to music, that I'm adapting to a multi-media hybrid stage musical to bring radically accessible live and virtual theatrical experiences to chronically ill and disabled communities.