Home For Contemporary Theatre And Art Ltd

HERE BUILDS AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY THAT NURTURES ARTISTS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS AS THEY DISRUPT CONVENTIONAL EXPECTATIONS TO CREATE INNOVATIVE PERFORMANCES IN THEATRE, DANCE, MUSIC, PUPPETRY, MEDIA, AND VISUAL ART.

HERE FY21 PROGRAMMING ACHIEVEMENTSHERES SHIFT DURING COVID-19WHEN HERE WAS FORCED TO CLOSE OUR DOORS TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE IN MARCH 2020, WE QUICKLY ASKED OURSELVES TWO QUESTIONS: HOW CAN WE REMAIN A CONNECTOR FOR ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES WITHOUT A GATHERING SPACE? AND, HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO COMMISSION NEW WORK, RESPONSIVE TO THIS MOMENT, SO THAT GENERATIVE ARTISTS CAN RECEIVE THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT THEY DESPERATELY NEED, AND AUDIENCES CAN HAVE THE CHANCE TO HEAL AND BE INSPIRED? WITHIN THOSE FIRST DAYS OF LOCKDOWN, WE LAUNCHED EXTENSIVE ONLINE PROGRAMMING TO PROVIDE AUDIENCES AND ARTISTS MOMENTS OF CONNECTION AND CONVERSATION AT A TIME OF ISOLATION. WITH LEADERSHIP FUNDING FROM THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST COVID-19 IMPACT AND RESPONSE FUND AND OTHER EMERGENCY GRANTS, WE WERE ABLE TO FULFILL OUR PRIMARY GOAL OF COMPENSATING ARTISTS AT SUCH A DEVASTATING MOMENT, AND HAVE SINCE PROVIDED ARTIST FEES OF MORE THAN $350,000 TO MORE THAN 700 ARTISTS PARTICIPATING IN OUR ONLINE PROGRAMS. OVER THE LAST YEAR, THESE PROGRAMS HAVE REACHED MORE THAN 300,000 PEOPLE, WITH MORE THAN 100,000 ENGAGING IN A VARIETY OF DIGITAL OFFERINGS. DESPITE A YEAR OF EVER-CHANGING PROJECTIONS ABOUT WHEN WE MIGHT REOPEN FOR PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, WE CURATED A SEASON OF NEW WORK CREATED BY RESIDENT AND AFFILIATED ARTISTS, AND CONTINUED TO INVEST RESOURCES INTO DEVELOPING WORLD PREMIERES FOR OUR FUTURE SEASONS, BACK IN OUR HOME. HERES 2020-21 SEASONDIGITAL OFFERINGS AS MENTIONED IN OUR PREVIOUS REPORT, SUBMITTED IN MARCH 2021, WHEN HERE LAUNCHED OUR ONLINE PROGRAMMING, WE BEGAN WITH THREE PRIMARY COMPONENTS. THE FIRST WAS HERE@HOME (WEEKLY MARCH-JULY 2020; THEN MONTHLY THROUGH OCTOBER), A SERIES OF LIVE SCREENINGS OF PAST HERE PRODUCTIONS, DURING WHICH ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES COULD INTERACT THROUGH LIVE CHAT. OF THE 18 WORKS SCREENED THROUGH THIS SERIES, 8 WERE DANCE OR MOVEMENT WORKS. SECOND, WE OFFERED #STILLHERE, A WEEKLY LIVESTREAM PERFORMANCE OR ARTIST TALK EVERY OTHER FRIDAY AT 1PM. SOME ARE STRUCTURED AS DIGITAL PREMIERES OF NEW WORKS CREATED FOR THESE TIMES, WHILE OTHERS ARE MORE INFORMAL ARTIST TALKS; BOTH FEATURE LIVE Q&A BETWEEN VIEWERS AND ARTISTS. FINALLY, WE WERE PROUD TO CREATE COVIDEO, A SEQUENTIAL, COMMUNITY-BUILT VIDEO OF ART-MAKING IN THE TIME OF CORONA (MARCH-DECEMBER 2020). BUILT OVER 10 DAYS BY 10 ARTISTS AND IN RESPONSE TO A CERTAIN THEME, A NEW CHAIN-LIKE VIDEO WAS REVEALED EVERY TWO WEEKS. A TOTAL OF 16 VIDEOS WERE CREATED FEATURING THE WORK OF 170 ARTISTS. OF THESE, 23 DANCE ARTISTS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS WERE FEATURED IN 15 PIECES, INCLUDING A DANCE-SPECIFIC COVIDEO AND A PUPPETRY-SPECIFIC COVIDEO.AS OUR MONTHS UNDER LOCKDOWN CONTINUED, WE REALIZED THAT THESE THREE FORUMS NEEDED TO GIVE WAY TO NEW WORKS CREATED SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN. THUS FAR, WE HAVE PREMIERED NINE NEW DIGITAL WORKS, INCLUDING FOUR WORKS THAT INVOLVED PUPPETRY AND/OR DANCE ARTISTS:QUALIFIED ALIEN (SEPTEMBER 2020 PREMIERE)A PUPPET AND THEIR ASSISTANT PETITION TO JOIN THE CIRCUS. CREATORS AND PUPPETEERS ROSA DOUGLAS AND BEN ELLING LIGHT A CANDLE FOR THE MERITOCRACY IN THIS SHORT PUPPET PLAY ADAPTED FOR SCREEN.ONLY YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THE SIGNAL (OCTOBER 29-DEC 17 2020)ONLY YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THE SIGNAL IS A SERIALIZED SPACE OPERA CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE DIGITAL LIVE PERFORMANCE FORMAT BY THE ESTABLISHED TEAM OF COMPOSER KAMALA SANKARAM, PLAYWRIGHT ROB HANDEL, AND DIRECTOR KRISTIN MARTING. THIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY OPERA-THEATRE WORK, WHICH TELLS THE STORY OF A GROUP OF TRAVELERS STUCK IN TRANSITION BETWEEN PLANET A AND PLANET B, WITH SINGERS, VIDEO AND PUPPETRY BY HANNE TIERNEY, WAS PERFORMED AND STREAMED LIVE IN SEVEN EPISODES OF 10 MINUTES EACH OVER SEVEN WEEKS. ON THE 7TH WEEK, AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE STORY, THE FIRST 60-MINUTES WERE SCREENED WITH THE 10-MINUTE FINALE PERFORMED LIVE.PUPPET PARLOR (DECEMBER 2020 PREMIERE)HERES ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF PUPPETS RETURNED, THIS TIME IN DIGITAL SPACE, FEATURING ARTISTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. INCLUDING WORKS BY THE FRANCO-FINNISH COMPANY AURORA THTRE D'ILLUSIA, THE CHILEAN COMPANY SILENCIO BLANCO (CHIFLN, EL SILENCIO DEL CARBN, HERE 2017), AND THE FRENCH-NORWEGIAN COMPANY PLEXUS POLAIRE (ASHES, HERE 2019). COMMUNION (FEBRUARY 2 - JUNE 20)COMMUNION IS AN EXPERIMENTAL VIDEO ART RESPONSE TO THE ISOLATION AND UNCERTAINTY WE ARE ALL FACING AS ARTISTS AND HUMANS IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS. BECAUSE DANCERS CAN NO LONGER BREATHE TOGETHER, TOUCH, OR SHARE THE EXPERIENCE OF MOVEMENT WITHIN THE PHYSICAL STUDIO, COMMUNION INVITES 40 DANCERS, SEPARATED BY PHYSICAL DISTANCE AND THE PANDEMIC, INTO A DIGITAL SPACE TO COMMUNE TOGETHER. EACH UNIQUE DUET IS CREATED FROM VIDEOS BY TWO DIFFERENT DANCERS WHO ARE SEPARATED BY CITIES, COUNTRIES, AND SOMETIMES CONTINENTS. ARTIST JANESSA CLARK COMBINES THESE VIDEOS TO CREATE VIRTUAL DUETS WHICH ARE SET TO MUSIC DONATED BY A COMPOSER WHO IS ALSO COLLABORATING REMOTELY. IN ADDITION TO STREAMING THE PIECE IN SEGMENTS EACH FRIDAY FOR 20 WEEKS LAST SPRING, HERE ALSO SCREENED ALL THE DUETS AS A VIDEO INSTALLATION FROM JUNE 3 THROUGH JUNE 19 IN OUR MAINSTAGE SPACE FOR AUDIENCES TO WALK THROUGH AND EXPERIENCE IN A SAFE SOCIALLY DISTANT MANNER. IN REAL LIFE (IRL) PERFORMANCE WHEN IT BECAME CLEAR THAT SOME WORK OUTDOORS WAS POSSIBLE, WE WORKED WITH OUR RESIDENT ARTISTS TO DEVISE OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING THEIR IDEAS TO LIFE, MAKING NEW COMMISSIONS FOR WORK THAT DIRECTLY RESPONDS TO THE PANDEMIC. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE DANCE AND MOVEMENT PERFORMANCES WEVE SUPPORTED THROUGH THIS INITIATIVE:CORRESPONDENCES (OCTOBER 1-4, 2020) CORRESPONDENCES IS A LARGE INSTALLATION PERFORMANCE CREATED BY LEIMAY (RESIDENT ARTISTS SHIGE MORIYA AND XIMENA GARNICA) IN ASTOR PLACE. WITH THREE PERFORMERS ENCLOSED IN THREE LARGE GLASS TANKS HALF-FILLED WITH SAND, THE HUMAN BODY (PERFORMER AND OBSERVER), MACHINES, NATURAL ELEMENTS, AND THE URBAN SQUARE MINGLED IN AN ENTANGLED POETIC MICROCOSM, WHILE OPENING INQUIRIES INTO LIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS. WEVE ESTIMATED THAT OVER ITS FOUR-DAY RUN, MORE THAN 25,000 PEOPLE PASSED THROUGH AND ENGAGED WITH THIS VISUALLY STUNNING PIECE. WE ARE ALSO HAPPY TO REPORT THAT AFTER THE MANHATTAN PREMIERE LEIMAY HAS SINCE TOURED THIS PIECE TO QUEENS, STATEN ISLAND, AND THE HUDSON VALLEY. THE DARK GIRL CHRONICLES: CHRONICLE X (JUNE 3-4, 2021)CREATED BY HARP ARTIST NIA O. WITHERSPOON, THE DARK GIRL CHRONICLES IS A RITUAL-PLAY CYCLE DESIGNED TO CRYSTALLIZE IN THE COLLECTIVE MEMORY THE STORIES OF BLACK WOMEN WARRIORS AGAINST STATE VIOLENCE. PART YORUBA SACRED STORY, PART COMMUNAL RITUAL, AND PART DOCUMENTARY-MANIFESTO, EACH PIECE IN THE CYCLE FOCUSES ON THE INTERIORITY AND NECESSARY DIGNITY OF DARK GIRLS, DARK LANDSCAPES, AND DARK KNOWLEDGES SO OFTEN EXCISED FROM THE PUBLIC ARENA. CHRONICLE X, THIS FIRST SECTION IN THE CYCLE, WAS CO-PRODUCED BY HERE, THE SHED, AND MUSICAL THEATER FACTORY, AS PART OF THE SHEDS OPEN CALL FESTIVAL THIS LAST SUMMER. THE PERFORMANCES FEATURED CHOREOGRAPHY BY CHANON JUDSON OF URBAN BUSH WOMEN. WATER COOLER SIREN SONG (SEPTEMBER 1-5, 2021)HERE RESIDENT ARTIST AND DIRECTOR, DESIGNER, AND PUPPETEER SPENCER LOTT CREATED A PERFORMANCE FOR MANHATTANS LITTLE ISLAND TO REMIND US THAT WITHOUT ARTS WORKERS, NO ECONOMIC RECOVERY IS COMPLETE. FOR THIS PREMIERE, LOTT PRESENTS FOUR MYTHICAL CREATURES, EACH REPRESENTING THE ARTISTIC SPIRIT OF THEIR HUMAN PERFORMERS WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO ABANDON THEIR ARTISTIC PURSUITS. FOR A TIME, THE PUPPET CREATURES SOAR FREELY AROUND LITTLE ISLAND, DANCING AND FLIRTING WITH VISITORS, UNTIL A SIREN SONG LURES THEM BACK TO A WATER COOLER. WITH TEXT AND LIVE CELLO, THE FOUR PERFORMERS EMBODY THEIR FULL ARTISTIC IDENTITIES FOR A FLEETING MOMENT. ONGOING SUPPORT FOR THE HERE ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM (HARP) WE HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF OURSELVES AS AN ARTIST-CENTERED ORGANIZATION; COVID-19 REINFORCED OUR COMMITMENT TO ACTING AS A PARTNER TO OUR RESIDENT ARTISTS AND FINDING WAYS TO CONTINUOUSLY PROVIDE NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND ENGAGEMENT TO A WIDE CIRCLE OF OTHER ARTISTS. WE IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN TO THE CHALLENGES OUR ARTISTS FACED AND WORKED WITH THEM TO RESPOND. WE FOUND WAYS TO HELP THEM SECURE THEIR OWN PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM LOANS, FILE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT, NAVIGATE VISA CHALLENGES, AND FIND ADDITIONAL HOUSING FOR QUARANTINE. WHILE UNABLE TO OPEN OUR SPACE TO THE PUBLIC, WE ALSO HOSTED FIVE PUPPETRY RESIDENCIES FOR PUPPET ARTISTS TO DEVELOP WORKS OVER THIS LAST WINTER. THE RESIDENCIES CULMINATED IN AN EVENING OF IN-PROGRESS VIRTUAL SHARINGS IN APRIL 2021. THAT SUMMER, WE PRODUCED OUR ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF RESIDENT ARTISTS WORKSHOPS, HERE RAW, STREAMING SOME CONTENT AND OFFERING OTHER CONTENT ON THE STREETS OUTSIDE OF HERE OR IN OUR THEATRES, AS A WALK-THROUGH INSTALLATION EXPERIENCE. AS ALWAYS, THE PROJECTS BEING DEVELOPED WITHIN HARP AND INCLUDED IN HERE RAW EXEMPLIFIED HERES COMMITMENT TO WORK THAT PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF DANCE AND THEATRE PERFORMANCE, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME TACKLING COMPLEX ISSUES REFLECTIVE OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN WITH TH