Artist turns trauma into performance

As a child, Ingrid Rivera endured loneliness, abuse and neglect. As an adult, she turned to… As a child, Ingrid Rivera endured loneliness, abuse and neglect. As an adult, she turned to art for therapy.

“The show is a part of my healing,” Rivera said, describing her autobiographical, one-woman show, which she performed in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room Tuesday night. “I’ve been sheltered, and I like to heal with people.”

As the lights dimmed and Rivera took the stage, she explained her goal of promoting better understanding, especially by combating homophobia and discrimination, to the crowd of about 25 people.

During the short performance, Rivera acted out scenes from her past. With powerful dialogue and descriptive — and often graphic — gestures, she told a painful story of sexual and physical abuse as a child, failed relationships and drug use, as well as her personal journey through recovery and self-realization of both sexuality and motherhood.

“I was taught things I didn’t need to learn yet,” she said, referring to her traumatic childhood. “So I wanted to do a show about sexual abuse because no one else talks about it.”

Rivera, an activist and performance artist from Brooklyn, N.Y., has performed her show at venues across the country. During Tuesday night’s performance, she explained that she perceived her art as an active process, rather than simply an act of entertainment.

After the short performance, Rivera shared a collection of brief poems discussing racism, politics, love and loss. The emotional tones of her poems varied; she read aloud in fury one moment, only to switch to melancholy in the same piece.

One poem, “Words,” was an attempt to explain vulgar racism to her young daughter Amanda — Rivera’s greatest inspiration.

“Words are not supposed to hurt,” she read. “But they do.”

In a later poem, Rivera came back to this topic and offered a realistic twist to an old school rhyme.

“Sticks and stones will break many bones, but your words,” she stated firmly. “Your words will kill them.”

Rivera is currently working on three other shows, one in which she will perform completely naked.

Despite the harsh reality of the topics discussed, some audience members sympathized deeply with Rivera and her story.

“I think she is a fabulous artist,” explained Sara Fatell, the political action chairwoman for the Rainbow Alliance, which sponsored the event. “She portrays how to live with numerous identities, which helps to bridge gaps. She was so powerful and inspirational to those watching by bridging those gaps.”

Jude Menie, vice president of the Rainbow Alliance, acknowledged the potency of the emotional stories told by Rivera.

“It was nice, refreshing,” he said. “She connected to our group like other speakers can’t.”

Rivera plans to continue traveling while telling her story to anyone willing to listen. Mainly involved with speaking to college students, she hopes one day to perform internationally.

“I hope this is something I can keep doing for a long, long while,” she said.