Suzanne Lacy and Sharon _________ (La Jolla, California, 1983-4)

A year and a half in the making—including policy and media actions—this performance tableau featured 154 women over the age of 65, processing through an audience of 1,000 and down steep stairs to two beach coves situated back to back.

The sound score, created by Susan Stone, reiterated the live conversations taking place below for the audience listening on the cliffs. The women say around white cloth-covered tables and talked about their lives, their relationships, their hopes and fears. In the middle of the performance the audience was invited onto the beach to listen close at hand. Performers finally left the beaches, inviting the audience to take their places around the tables. Carefully yet jubilantly the performers wound their way back up to the top of the cliff.