Our activity fills the room with a nervous roar. We speak into our phones. We check our likes and feeds. We may greet the person sitting next to us. We may not.

The curtain opens, and our preoccupations fall as a single story flickers to life on the stage. In the dark we connect with the performance and with the act of sharing stories that spans thousands of years.

These images represent my trip behind the curtain and the remarkable moments with the artists I found there.