How EXES: The Musical Came to Life
The idea for deegie's EXES album and EXES: The Musical was sparked when deegie stumbled upon her online journals spanning nearly a decade, which included details about casual and serious relationships that were too good not to indulge in. From men who made clear they never wanted to be serious, to clingy, cloying men who held her too tight, each song is an exploration of memory, accountability, and the perspective bestowed by time and, in a particularly bold move, includes the name of the boyfriend it’s about in the song’s title. EXES the album and EXES: The Musical each explores how the expectations of the cultural fairytale myth of relationships, a sometimes obsessive need for love and validation, men’s emotional repression, and casual dating values that are often informed by rape culture all impact women as they come of age.
Creator's Note
Creating this show has been like making a scrapbook of my life, one I want to glue shut forever. Except the songs are so fun to do live and the stories are so vivid, that I’m addicted - almost as much as I was addicted to my EXES. Looking back at them through the lens of '90s and 2000s movies, shows, and music was eye-opening and explains so much about where our notions of femininity, masculinity, love, romance, and sex stand today. I hope that in recounting my own sexual assault and the ambiguity and ambivalence of that trauma, I can help other survivors process their experience in new ways. And for everyone who's had an ex, is still looking for love, or loves learning from (and laughing at) others' harrowing mistakes, EXES: The Musical is your flip phone and skinny jeans - indispensable.
- deegie
