An Intimate Evening with Death, Herself

A 90-minute One-Woman Show

A Middle-Aged Waitress Meets Death In A Bar; 49 Days Later, She Replaces Him.

“The moment of your death is almost certainly bound to be a poignant, busy, and overwhelming time. I truly wish that when that moment arrives there were more time for the minions and I to help you deal with issues such as regrets, last wishes, final testaments, increased anxiety, and stark bottomless fear. Sadly, recent increases in work orders and call volumes render it impossible to offer such personal assistance at the time of death. That’s a shame, but also a very good reason for you to come to my show and Make Friends with Death. Now, while you still can!”

Performed at

Boulder Fringe Festival • Chicago Fringe Festival • Nugget Fringe Festival • The Marsh Theater (San Francisco) • United Solo Theater Festival (NYC) • Let’s Reimagine End of Life (San Francisco) • Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Tucson) • The Bishop’s Room (Grass Valley, CA) • WordXWord Festival (Pittsfield MA) • Off Center Stage (Grass Valley CA) • The Metta Theater (Taos NM) • in various venues in Pt. Townsend WA • Casper WY • Prescott AZ • Paulden AZ • Tucson AZ • Nevada City CA • New Paltz NY • Becket MA • Oracle AZ • Riverside CA • Oakland CA • North San Juan CA • Penn Valley CA

photos of Dorothy by Eli Akerstein

The Story

Dorothy, a middle-aged waitress, meets Death in a bar. He's unhappy, bored, and ready for something new. So is she. So, after 49 days in a booth at a Denny's restaurant, she replaces him.

As Dorothy herself says, “We met. And one thing led to another—as usual—and now I'm it. Death. And with all due respect for the previous occupant, our new regime is going to be all about a friendlier face for Death, including education, outreach, and much more.

As one example she cites the new Death Pre-Registration Card that allows you to set up an account, get a minion assigned to your case, as well as make a list of your life regrets before you die. “It's amazingly handy and easy to use,” says Dorothy.

While death is unfortunately still mandatory, Dorothy claims that there are exciting new options and upgrades in the works. "You can't cheat Death," she says, "but you can work with me."

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE : DEATH PRE-REGISTRATION CARDS

large copies at bottom of page to DOWNLOAD AND COPY!

IN 2018 YOU COULD ASK DEATH A QUESTION. AND HEAR THE ANSWER.

IN 2018 - OR 2017? - I can’t remember. There was a city-wide - San Francisco, that is - event called Let’s ReImagine End of Life with hundreds of events - movies, theater, comedy, chorales, dinners - anything in short that was re-imagining the end of life… Dorothy performed Death Herself - one event she took questions from the audience. Due to rules of the event, we weren’t able to distribute Ask Death cards at the event, but Dorothy is using cards from a previous event, then she took questions from the crowd. Let us know if you like it, leave a comment on patreon or other website. Send an email with your thoughts or questions. We might do an Ask Death event as a video soon. Many thanks for all your help, especially to my esteemed, beloved, and inspiring patrons.

NEW - 4-26-2021 Dorothy is featured on KVMR’s The Women’s Show – Dorothy’s part, that is, without the music, is below.