The Center at West Park presents

CREATED & PERFORMED BY
SAMANTHA CC

PROGRAM NOTE

This work is a personal meditation on my own ancestral line. Ancestor veneration is an important element of many Black spiritual traditions originating in Africa and practiced in the Americas by the descendants of those who were stolen from Africa. The line between the world of the ancestors (or the dead) and our world is thin, and the most potent spiritual work happens at the crossroads. The performance uses the geometry of the Dikenga cosmogram to direct its movement. In a sense, there is a sort of time travel at play. The past and present and future collapse on one another. In my own ancestral story I find much to be inspired by, but also a sadness in understanding the depth of compromise and loss required to make it in this racist, violent, negating America. My performance interrogates that reality while embracing the power we have to dream and imagine beyond it. The truth also includes the dreams that were never uttered.

Like all of my work Cauldron aims to create a world that suggests my thoughts, but allows the audience to have their own journey. Thank you for joining me here.

Samatha CC

CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

SAMANTHA CC is a performance and multi-media artist originally from and currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. While her background is mainly in film and video, her practice has centered around performance since 2016. Her performances often incorporate original video projections and sound design. Much of her work incorporates themes of fantasy, science fiction, and mysticism as a means of exploring human fragility and the individuation process. The “unreal” both reflects the real and servers as a catalyst for exploring alternative ways of addressing both personal and global issues. She has presented work at Roulette Intermedium, The Wild Project, The Knockdown Center, MoMA PS1, Secret Project Robot, The AC Institute, Outpost Artists Resources, and EV Gallery to name a few. Currently, she is curating an ongoing performance series called Intimates at EV Gallery in New York City.

PRODUCTION AND MAJOR SUPPORT Credits

Cauldron of the Secret Self is presented through a residency at The Center at West Park. This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Center at West Park is a not-for-profit community performing arts center based in the historic West Park Presbyterian Church, a New York City landmark on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

We recognize that this land where we are privileged to be is the unceded territory and ancestral home of the Munsee Lenape. Today, members of the Lenape and many other indigenous sovereign nations continue to live, work, and create in New York City.

For over 30 years in the mid-19th century, this land was home to Seneca Village, the first free Black community in New York City. In 1857, the city used eminent domain to forcibly remove the residents and demolish their homes, schools, and churches to make room for the construction of Central Park.

Since its construction in 1889, this building has been home to countless artists and activists:

In 1978, West Park led the way in openly welcoming LGBTQ+ members as part of the More Light Movement.

From 1980 to 1985, West Park was home to The Shakespeare Center and the renowned Riverside Shakespeare Company.

From 1987 to 1991, God’s Love We Deliver worked out of West Park’s kitchen to serve up to 250 meals per day to people living with AIDS during the height of the crisis.

The West Park Presbyterian Church building was named a New York City Landmark in 2010. In 2016, The Center at West Park was founded by a coalition of community members to preserve and revitalize West Park as a community resource and home for arts and culture.

We are deeply inspired by the legacy of those who have called this land and this building home before us. We hope to honor them in all our work today and in the future.

ABOUT THE CENTER AT WEST PARK

The Center at West Park is a community performing arts center based in the historic West Park Presbyterian Church, a New York City landmark. We present engaging and boundary-pushing early-career and established artists through our artist residency programs, provide affordable rental space for artists to develop their work, and steward the restoration of our historic home’s landmark exterior. The Center is a secular, 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.

This program is made possible by the generous support of audience members like you. To make a donation to support future residencies, go to centeratwestpark.org/donate.

Staff

Natasha Katerinopoulos, Managing Director
Zachary Tomlinson, Artistic Director
Dane Jerabek, Marketing & Box Office Manager
Richard Pimentel, Fascilities Manager
David Shocket, Consulting Technical Director
Gary Eisenkraft, CPA, Accountant
Mercedes Marrero-Alvarado, Porter
Dion Thompson, Porter

OBJECT MOVEMENT CURATORS

Maiko Kikuchi
Rowan Magee
Marcella Murray
Justin Perkins

FALL 2022 GUEST CURATORS

Christina Franklin
Melanie Greene
Trevor Weston

Board of directors

Marian M. Warden, President
Marsha Flowers, Vice President
Theodore S. Berger, Treasurer
Beryl Abrams, Secretary
Robert L. Brashear
Jennifer Rogers Carlock
Don Frantz
Derrick McQueen
Mitchell Schamroth
Susan E. Sullivan