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SHARON LUCKERMAN
Editorial Assistant
Empatheatre members combine improvisation with a deep concern for lifr's truths. Top
from left: Todd Hohauser-Thatchen Diane Kreger, Kathleen Lemenu, Drew Sauer and
Jerry Lemenu. Bottom from left: Ce'Ann Yates and Gail Rucker
Photo by MI Hahsen
heir sentences ricochet
off one another.
Ernpathearre per- .
formers, all in black, sit
on overstuffed couches and folding
chairs in the quaint Kerrytown
Concert House in Ann Arbor,
answering questions before their
once-a-month performance.
Like a nine-headed imaginary
being, Todd Hohauser-Thatcher,
Jerry and Kathy Lemenu, Gail
Ruker, Drew and Judy Sauer,
Diane Kreger, Ce'Ann Yates and
artistic director Sara Schreiber are
individuals, yet in touch with each
other's jokes, movements, soul.
"Empatheatre's a collaboration
with the audience," says Todd
Hohauser-Thatcher, 30.
Downstairs, in fact, arriving guests
receive a 3x5-inch index card to
write a situation they would like to
see the performers enact around
the evening's theme.
"Empatheatre is about under-
standing," says Diane Kreger, 35,
of Ann Arbor. "It's about discover-
ing parts of ourselves that may not
be pleasant, but we can all relate to
them and they may ultimately set
you free."
"We feel the audience," adds
Gail Rucker, 52, of Ann Arbor. _
"Our job is to respond ro the
audience's requests authentically
and truthfully," says Jerry Lemenu,
51, of Howell.
SOUL on page 74