The Project
A Respectable Death is a ritual dance-theater performance inspired by my brother, visual artist David Pettrow. My brother was a brilliant painter who took his own life in 2000. For 24 years I have wanted to create a performance that would not only honor my brother, but also share the power of how art can transform and heal our lives. A Respectable Death examines grief in solitude, the complexity of art, and ultimately how we re-examine our place in the universe after experiencing tragic loss. A deeply poetic meditation and collaboration with my brother, A Respectable Death will premiere at Center for Performance Research in Brooklyn, NY, on April 13, 2024. Your support is a way to be a part of this passionate and deeply personal story. Thank you!
Written, choreographed, directed, and performed by Daniel Pettrow.
Co-director and Mentorship by Arthur Nauzyciel.
Original sound design by Omar Zubair.
Filming and photos by Stephen O'Connell.
How Your Contribution Helps All of Us:
I am asking for you to invest in my project, but I also want you to feel an emotional investment - a connection deeper than "I gave some money to some artist." Therefore I am offering 3 tiers of support, featuring names that had significance to David and me. Investors contributing to the top 2 tiers will also receive gifts personally selected by me - my brother's original artwork. I have not sold any of David's work in 24 years. Offering gifts of his artwork in exchange for your investment in my project seems poetic and collaborative, like the project itself. It will keep my brother's artwork alive, support my own art, and - hopefully - bring us great joy. I know it will for me!
- $50: Ballroom Studio: My brother and I once lived together with other artists in an old Ballroom. You will receive a thank you in the program!
- $100: La Famiglia Cortona: Many of our favorite memories were visiting extended family in Cortona, Italy. Besides a thank you in the program, you will receive an original drawing/artwork from one of my brother's sketchbooks that has been in storage for 24 years! (Limited to the first 50 $100 donations.)
- $250: Misericordia Society: After his death, we buried my brother's ashes in a corner of Cimitero della Misericordia in Cortona, near a wall where he and I would sit for hours, looking out over the valley below. Misericordia sounds like misery but it actually means mercy. There's a lesson there... Besides a thank you in the program, you will receive an original charcoal drawing by my brother that no one outside of my family has seen in 24 year! (Limited to the first 20 $250 donations.)
Your support will help us to pay for:
- MOST IMPORTANTLY, all of our amazing artistic collaborators
- An Original Soundscape created by Omar Zubair
- Filming + Photos by Stephen O'Connell
- The rental of our performance space at Center for Performance Research
- Rehearsal rentals at Mark Morris Dance Group
- Props + Technical equipment
The Impact:
What do we do with our pain?
What do we do with our agency?
What do we do when we are faced with great loss? Where do we turn to?
A Respectable Death is a communal ritual for all. It speaks to that which cannot be named - the unknown, mysterious trajectory of life and death. A ritual that is lacking in our current state. My hope is that this project provides a space for everyone to examine these questions and help find their own peace.
Other Ways You Can Help:
1. Please share this project support page on social media and via email and with friends, family, and colleagues.
2. If you would like to discuss other means of support (higher level investment, purchasing additional artwork by my brother, anonymous support, corporate support, etc) please reach out to me via pettrow@gmail.com
Your support means so much to me!