AUDIO: ‘Numb’ podcast #4

This fall, Goat in the Road Productions (GRP), a local theatre company, is presenting its new original play, “Numb,” which recently premiered and will run through December 6. “Numb,” presented in association with the Cachet Art and Culture Program and the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum (NOPM), explores the complicated history of anesthesiology and 19th century medicine. “Numb” looks at the ecstasy and intoxication of drugs that alter human consciousness in a quest for pain-free surgery, and the often forgotten human stories that accompany advancement.

Besides just a theatre work, “Numb” has also been a collaboration with local pain experts and public health thinkers with the aim to create a conversation about the changing understanding of pain and its relief. One of the ways GRP is doing this is by creating four podcasts that explore this theme. Learn more about the production in a set of critical analyses from New Orleans-based performance project LIFT here. Check back next week for the fifth and final installment of Goat in the Road’s “Numb” podcast series.

The fourth podcast is a bit longer than the previous episodes. This episode features a panel that was hosted by GRP’s collaborators at the Cachet Arts & Culture Program and the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, about early female healthcare. Moderated by Owen Ever and featuring panelists: Kate Paxton, certified nurse midwife at Ochsner Baptist birthing center; Elizabeth Seleen,student of historical archaeology in the university of New Orleans anthropology department; Jen Stovall, a graduate of LSU nursing program, herbalist, wilderness EMT, and one of the owners of Maypop herb shop in New Orleans; Rachel Speck, Cachet’s resident artist and a member of the New orleans community Printshop.

“Numb” runs for two more weeks: November 28 – 30 and December 4 – 6, Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available at the door or online.

*Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that this episode was the final installment of Goat in the Road’s “Numb” podcast series. The fifth episode, which will be published on NolaVie next week, will be the final podcast in the series.