Well, she used to have a carefree mind of her own
And a delicate look in her eye
These days, I'm afraid, she's not even sure
If her name is Veronica
—Elvis Costello, "Veronica," 1989

Memory loss is a slow burn.

For the patients who gradually lose their recollections in the smoldering fog.

And for the families and friends who watch their loved ones disappear while still being present physically.

It's the type of illness that inspires rumination because of its creeping progression, and two creative projects that reflect on dementia and its impacts are coming to Ann Arbor.

Rea Tajiri's 2023 film Wisdom Gone Wild chronicles 16 years of the decline of her mother Rose, who was diagnosed with dementia at age 76. The documentary will be screened at the Michigan Theater on Tuesday, February 10, at 6:30 pm. Admission is free; you can register for the event here.

There will also be a panel discussion featuring Tajiri, Peggy Du (Association of Chinese Americans), Shaista Kazmi (Apna Ghar Homecare), and Dr. Tanav Popli (University of Michigan). The moderator is Bill Kubota, Detroit PBS senior producer and director of the documentary Up From the Ashes, on the construction of the Ann Arbor District Library's Traverwood branch.

The Wisdom Gone Wild website characterizes the documentary as a "moving and original reflection on mortality and transformation":

Rea Tajiri partners with her mother, Rose Tajiri Noda, to create a film about the final sixteen years of Rose’s life as a person living with dementia. Together, they nurture their connection through listening, art, and music. Rose performs songs from her youth, providing the soundtrack for time travel, as we witness her evolution across nine decades of living. Delicately weaving between past and present, parenting and being parented, the film reflects on the unreliability of memory and the desire to reinvent one's own life when memories fail us. It is a poignant meditation on the abiding strength of the unique relationship between mothers and daughters.

Ann Arbor native Rick Sperling isn't a filmmaker like Tajiri, but he knows how to tell a story.

In 1984, the 17-year-old Community High student formed his own theater company, Kreative Improvisational Drama Studio (KIDS). He was a regular actor with Ann Arbor's Performance Network, and later formed Detroit's Mosaic Youth Theatre, which brought performing arts training to the city's schools.

Sperling's latest creative foray is a return to his Tree Town roots.

A Joyride in Memory Care is Sperling's one-person play about caring for his mother, Doris, a longtime educator and a driving force behind Ann Arbor's Open School. The 90-minute performance will run for four performances, February 20-22, at Ann Arbor’s new Forge Theater.

Sperling plays all the parts in A Joyride in Memory Care—from himself to his mom to the colorful people who share living space with Doris.

Washtenaw County nonprofit Dementia Friendly Services (DFS) is supporting this run of Joyride, which Sperling has performed for the past year and a half in Southeast Michigan.

"Rick, his Mom, and the other characters in his play make us weep with them; they make us laugh with them, and mostly they help us see people with dementia as what they are and always will be: persons deserving love and respect," said Jim Mangi, executive director of DFS, in a press release. (DFS will also lead a post-show discussion after each performance.)

"This brave piece of writing is a powerful and deeply touching cross between memoir, documentary, and dramatic reading," said Malcolm Tulip, University of Michigan theater professor, in the release. "With his Dickens-like characterizations, Rick leads us through a journey that is in turns sad, joyful, hilarious, and uncompromisingly honest."

Rea Tajiri's "Wisdom Gone Wild" screens at the Michigan Theater, 603 East Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, on Tuesday, February 10, at 6:30 pm. Admission is free; you can register for the event here. A panel discussion will follow. Visit marquee-arts.org for more information.

Rick Sperling’s “A Joyride in Memory Care” is at the Forge Theater, 3000 Packard Street, Suite B, Ann Arbor, for four performances, February 20-22. Tickets are $25. A discussion will follow each performance. Visit forgetheatercollaborative.com for tickets, showtimes, and more information.