Caris' Peace
Fifteen years ago the theater and film actress and Yale drama graduate Caris Corfman's life was hijacked. The removal of a brain tumor left her without short-term memory. Caris was once an actress whose talent presumed a lifetime career, whether starring opposite Ian Holm in the dramatic film Dreamland or in the original Broadway cast of Amadeus with Ian McKellen and Tim Curry. Now she can't remember a line of dialogue, a stage direction, or an entrance or exit cue the very foundation of her profession. The simplest dance step or lyric of a song eludes her, though she trained in dance and music since childhood. The documentary is the story of Caris' resolute effort to reclaim her life in theater and return to the world that she loved. No one with short-term memory loss has ever attempted a return to the stage. The day of Caris Corfman's surgery was the day she lost her ability to make new memories. She had four brain surgeries followed by years of twilight existence. Life was lived only in the present moment: a story told for the fifth time was brand new; a conversation or task would stop midway or twist surprisingly because she had no recollection of how it began. Caris gave up reading novels, since she couldn't remember the narrative from chapter to chapter. Yet people, memories and life before the operation remained vivid in her mind. The years of rehabilitation and some physical healing have given Caris possibilities to function in the present while holding onto her past. She writes innumerable notes and messages, keeping a rigorous calendar. She makes diary entries of her life, she says, 'so that I can remember that I have one.' Through all of this Caris Corfman has retained the ingredients that made her an acclaimed and much sought after comedic and dramatic actress. Her dream is to return to the stage. Assisted by friends -- actors, directors, playwrights and theatre producers -- Caris creates her own starring role in a play about her life written by her. Through this articulate woman we witness an extraordinary journey to regain a life once lived, and a struggle to overcome the incredible limitations of a debilitating condition.
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