Q&A: Sianna Joslin, Creator of Fringe Festival’s ‘Atemporal’
Sianna Joslin (she/they) describes their show Atemporal as a “lightning round autobiography” of life with — and then without — an epilepsy diagnosis.
“I was misdiagnosed when I was 16, and I didn’t find out for 10 years,” she said. “In that timespan, I had constructed a version of myself that revolved around having epilepsy. Then that rug was pulled out from under me.”
Atemporal represents Joslin’s search for closure after the misdiagnosis. The show touches on gender identity discoveries, mental illness, and the rebuilding of life after trauma. It premieres this weekend as part of the much-anticipated 2022 Capital Fringe Festival.
Launched in 2006, Capital Fringe is D.C.’s largest performing arts festival. It takes place every July in Southwest D.C. for over 30,000 patrons. Its mission is to support emerging artists by providing fresh, exciting spaces for performance in the D.C. Metropolitan area.
Performing at Fringe has been Joslin’s dream for years. Joslin grew up in Central Florida, where they attended Rollins College and won the Theater Scholar Award for Atemporal’s older sibling, Temporal.
“‘Temporal’ referred to my temporal lobe epilepsy, but it also referred to the time I felt I was losing every time I had a seizure,” they said.
Now a web developer, mixed-media artist, and playwright, Joslin lives in Northeast Washington, D.C. with their wife and two cats. After spending most of her life in Florida, D.C. has finally given Joslin the space and the safety to heal from the trauma this show explores.
“I don’t know how much healing I could have done in [Florida],” Joslin said. “D.C. is such a different space, fortunately. Exploring the city helped me build new connections and kind of put the pieces of my life back together. I think moving to D.C. really let me reflect on what happened and grow from it.”
Atemporal is the product of over a year’s worth of therapy, healing, writing, rewriting, and workshopping. Sydney Martin (he/him), a close friend of Joslin’s who officiated their wedding at D.C.’s Metrobar this past March, described the show as “both deeply intimate and hilarious.”
“Sianna shows that you can be vulnerable and in touch with yourself while also not taking yourself too seriously — an invaluable quality the queer community needs more of,” he said.
Several of Joslin’s friends who also previewed the show have compared it to the work of Hannah Gadsby, one of Joslin’s favorite comedians. Like Gadbsy, Joslin curated this show as a way of reclaiming power over past trauma.
“There’s a line at the beginning of the show, ‘I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell this story forever, because it feels really problematic in a way,’” Joslin said. “This is less of a reverse-inspiration-porn narrative and more of a ‘I am more than my trauma’ narrative.”
Working on Atemporal has helped them reframe what happened with their epilepsy diagnosis and find new meaning in life without it. Joslin said amid the humor, she hopes the show empowers its audience to view their own lives in a fresh light.
For audience members who relate to the show’s content — members of the LGBTQ+ community, or those with a history of disability or chronic illness — Joslin said, “I want them to know they’re not alone. This kind of thing affects a lot of people, and it affects us in very different ways.”
For people who are more interested in the show for its comedic value, Joslin said she hopes her production leaves them with a deeper sense of empathy for what it’s like to live at the intersection of disability and gender diversity.
Kalli Joslin (she/her), Sianna’s wife, said they both experienced deep confusion, pain, and anger after first learning about the misdiagnosis.
“Seeing Sianna channel all those emotions into humor and reflection has been really amazing to watch,” she said. “I’m so excited to finally see this show in front of an audience larger than me and our two cats in our living room.”
Over the coming two weekends, Fringe will host five performances of Atemporal. Tickets to the show can be purchased here. Proceeds from Fringe productions directly support local artistry; 70% of all ticket sales go back to the artist, and the remainder is used to keep the festival alive.
