The Center at West Park presents

EMBRACING THE ROOT

October 5th, 2023

An expedition searching for change

We invite you to experience selected highlights from a most unusual operatic music theater creation.

Work-in-progress showing Oct 5th 7.30 pm

The Center at West Park, 165 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024

3 master musicians, a brilliant vocalist, and 3 excellent dancers will take you on an expedition along with a research scientist (played by a puppet) who is in the midst of a master project concerned with human stress and climate crisis. Soon she suffers a severe stress breakdown herself and finds herself catatonic in a mental hospital. Forced to let go of everything she learns life-saving lessons from the world of trees.

Embracing the Root is a cross-discipline artwork connecting music, puppetry, dance, video projections, science, and climate perspectives with the aim of investigating the connection between the worlds of trees and roots - and the nature of our own human condition.

Performing Artists:

Carman Moore - Co-creator, Music Director, Composer, and Pianist.

Lotte Arnsbjerg - Co-creator, Composer, Playwright, Lyricist, Vocalist

Evi Arnsbjerg Brygmann - Puppeteer

Bianka Drozdik - Puppeteer

Kiori Kawai - Choreographer and Dancer

Elise Knudson - Dancer

Teresa Smith - Dancer

Premik Russell Tubbs - Flutist, saxophonist

Carter Hoodless - Percussionist, drummer

NB! Introduction by Psychologist, Ph.D Anders Soerensen

Embracing the Root Project is supported by The Center at West Park, Mike Stoller and Corky Hale, Mim Warden, The Danish Arts Foundation, The Culture House of Pilegaarden Copenhagen, Broenshoej Water Tower Copenhagen, The Askov FoundationDenmark and New York.

Fiscal Sponsor: New York Foundation of the Arts.

A very special thanks to all who have contributed with help and donations. For donations: go to NYFA / Embracing the Root.

www.embracingtheroot.com


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

Debby Hirshman, Executive Director
Nick J. Browne, Director of Artistic Programming
Madelyn Paquette, Management Associate

Board of directors

Marian M. Warden, President
Marsha Flowers,
Vice President

Mitchell Schamroth, Treasurer
Beryl Abrams,
Secretary
Jennifer Rogers Carlock
Derrick McQueen

Theodore S. Berger
Susan E. Sullivan