Self Preservation: http://mudfest.art/event/self-preservation-5/

AUDIO DESCRIPTION/TACTILE TOUR/AUSLAN “… and so we keep on keeping on keeping on keeping on.” Self Preservation is a play about the complicated relationship that folks with a chronic illness have with the medication that keeps them alive. Partly devised and partly scripted, it peers into the lives of a year twelve student coming out of a manic episode, an up-and-coming comedian trapped in a bathroom on the verge of a seizure and an over-achiever learning to live with a rare blood disorder. In Self Preservation, taking medication becomes a radical act of self-care that proclaims: this life, my life Ð I Ð am worth living for.

What is Mudfest?

The Student Union at the University of Melbourne has been contributing directly to Melbourne’s cultural life for well over fifty years. Mudfest has become a significant driving-force of creative power and since its inception in 1990 has established itself as a cultural icon on the emerging arts scene in Melbourne.

Mudfest has grown to encompass all forms of artistic expression. Presented every two years by the University of Melbourne Student Union, Mudfest nurtures, encourages and supports new and innovative arts practices among students, while also providing them with professional and creative development opportunities.

This year Mudfest will ask the question “How do we respond to an increasingly frightening world?” Under the theme of ‘HATCH’ we hope to present responses that vary from kindness to rage, from small and quiet acts of hope, to loud and furious acts of resistance. The works will be cultivated with the aim to provoke both artistic and conscious growth.

Mudfest provides students with the unique opportunity to be a part of a festival environment that encourages cross-pollination with other disciplines and approaches, as well as fostering an environment of inclusion, and development. In 2017 Mudfest will maintain the initiative of showcasing works that are environmentally sustainable and accessible to people living with disability, encouraging artists to share their work in an inclusive and ethical environment.