Ain Gordon and Josh Quillen - Relics and Their Humans

Created and performed by Ain Gordon and Josh Quillen, Relics and Their Humans is a theatrical and musical journey to the Quillen family home in Dover, Ohio. It covers a three-year odyssey of caregiving following a 2006 diagnosis of ALS for Josh’s father Jerry.

Three “relics” undergird this work. First, in 2019, Gordon and Quillen visited Quillen’s mom, Sue, recording an interview from her perspective as caretaker during her husband’s illness. Second, Sue offered up Jerry’s journal where he chronicled the arc of his disease. Third, Jerry made a 17-track playlist (you must see the work to learn why) morphing into 17 sonic episodes. Together, these elements are framed by Gordon’s recall of his first visit with Sue over dinner in Quillen’s childhood home. The excavated materials are reimagined via song, Reuben sandwiches, interviews, and a high-stakes dinner with a surprise figure at the table.

Relics and Their Humans marks the second collaboration between writer, director, and performer Ain Gordon and composer, writer, and percussionist Josh Quillen (of So Percussion).