Ga Sho (May You Be Loved) Inspired by a True Story.

Sangdrol is a Tibetan nun who was imprisoned by the Chinese government for participating in peaceful protests in Tibet. She spent 11 years in prison, where she was subjected to torture and abuse. Despite the harsh conditions, Sangdrol refused to renounce her beliefs or confess to any crimes she did not commit. She and her fellow prisoners managed to smuggle letters out of the prison, which were eventually published and drew international attention to the situation in Tibet. Sangdrol was eventually released from prison in 2002 due to international pressure. Her story is one of courage and resilience in the face of oppression and injustice.

During incarceration someone smuggled a cassette machine into the cells and the nuns recorded songs to let loved ones know they were still alive.  Unbeknownst to them, once smuggled out, the songs became the focus of an international human rights campaign.  Eventually, after 11 years in prison (during which several of Sangdrol’s fellow nuns died) she was released to the US for medical treatment. Once there, she immediately received asylum. The songs had ultimately led to her release.  Her story has an improbable (but true) Hollywood ending. After she settled in the US, one of the young men with whom she was originally arrested went to great lengths to search her out — they fell in love, married and now live in Boston with their son.

Ga Sho the immersive perfomance places the performer and the audience within a surround of 24 independent audio speakers: sound may emerge from anywhere and may transform from the harsh external realities of solitary confinement in a brutal prison system to an inner world of choruses of voices, authentic Tibetan rituals and chanting, the voices of lost friends.