Happiness Is A Warm Gun Part IV: Mind the Machina

Happiness is a Warm Gun
Part IV: Mind the Machina

Directed by Erika Kae
Performances by Kenneth Berba, Anita Harkess, Iona Leighton, & Ben Turk

A young person suffering from depression and diagnosed with schizophrenia has a conversation with his guns about his diagnosis. Told from the perspective of the machines.

Happiness is a Warm Gun is a six-part performance exploration of gun culture and violence in the United States. Each piece deconstructs the American gun debate and examines the statement, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

From freedom to fear, our complex relationship with firearms, and the role they play in our society, is one of the most polarizing issues of our generation. From the inside it has become a cornerstone of the ideological “Culture War” with players on both sides staking uncompromising positions, making broad claims and dehumanizing anyone who may disagree with their perspective. From the outside, it looks like a high-stakes game being played by people with endless resources, who play loose with the rules and only let you play if you buy into their brand.

It is a game.

A trivial pursuit where we chase one another around in circles gathering facts and assembling parts and pieces in a race to win the grand prize - the right to call our opponent wrong. The right to call ourselves true American.

This is where the LIDA Project’s exploration begins. With a circle...