Notes on Me and You

Notes on Me and You is a narrative theatrical song cycle by Dawson Atkin and N.J. Collay.  It follows a gay man from 1987 to 1992 as his partner is diagnosed with, and eventually dies from, HIV/AIDS.  The character is an every-man, unnamed and sketched broadly as if to say "This could be anyone. This could be you." The piece is structured in 3 acts, separated by brief transitions.  The first act follows the time from diagnosis to hospitalization.  The second act follows the couple from hospitalization until the singer's partner's death.  The final act follows the singer through his process of grief and acceptance.

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Notes premiered at the 2020 Hartford Fringe Festival in a digital version directed and edited by Dawson Atkin. The premiere production starred Sam Vana, who accompanied himself on guitar, while Dawson played piano.  The filmed version, created due to  the COVID pandemic, uses historical and archival footage from the 1980s and 90s and dresses Vana in a face shield, emphasizing the connection between the two epidemics separated by four decades.