Revisioning the Three Rs - Michaela Di Cesare's Successions

Getting Lit with Linda - The Canadian Literature Podcast

In this episode, Linda revisits and revisions the three “Rs” – reading, writing, and arithmetic – to reformulate a new triad. Why? Because, in her interview with Michaela Di Cesare about her play Successions, Linda learns more about Anthony, one of the main characters, and his disorder, known as prosopagnosia. Di Cesare explains that she thought of this disorder as a means of representing how patriarchal culture is often blind to women and to their needs. Anthony is literally unable to recognize women’s faces, unable to read their particularities and individual and very human traits. From this point, Linda develops a broader metaphor, beginning with considerations of literacy (see CBC’s recent assessment) to the need to recalibrate our critical reading apparatus – and then Maia Harris suggests Elaine Castillo’s How To Read Now. And that sets the stage for the interview.

If you’d like to see one of Di Cesare’s current plays, Mickey & Joe (Good. Bad. Ugly. Dirty) is set to open at the Mirella & Lino Saputo Theatre from May 17-25 2025.

Executive Producer: Linda Morra; Associate Producer: Maia Harris; Sound Producer: James Healey; Music by Raphael Krux ("The Madness of Linda") and Kevin MacLeod ("Natural Vibes").

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