SPRING 2022 Season
RADICAL KINSHIP
CREATED BY ENSEMBLE PI
MARCH 2 | 7:00PM | $15 - $20
Radical Kinship is Ensemble Pi’s new concert project, inspired by the work of the global champion of social justice, Father Greg Boyle, and his belief in the power of radical kinship to heal society’s inequalities. For Boyle, founder of the LA-based Homeboy Industries, the solution to an unfair criminal justice system begins with the recognition that we belong to each other, and the necessity to give voice to marginalized people.
In the spirit of Boyle’s radical kinship, Ensemble Pi has commissioned a diverse group of composers including Orlando Jacinto Garcia; Ralph Mendoza and rapper AJ Peoples; and Gregg Welcher to create works addressing systemic poverty and over-criminalization with narratives told by (ex-)incarcerated people and other oppressed populations.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
ENSEMBLE PI, a socially conscious new-music group founded in 2002, features composers whose work seeks to open a dialogue between ideas and music on some of the world’s current and critical issues. For twenty years, Ensemble Pi has presented an annual Peace Project concert, commissioning new works and collaborating with visual artists, writers, actors, and journalists such as William Kentridge, Naomi Wolf, and David Riker. The ensemble was in residence for four American music festivals presented by the American Composers Alliance and now collaborates with the APNM. Symphony Space presented Ensemble Pi in birthday celebrations for composers Gunther Schuller and Krzysztof Penderecki. A multi-year collaboration with composer Elias Tanenbaum resulted in a CD of his chamber music, Keep Going, released by Parma Recordings in 2010 and reviewed by Gramophone as “a touching tribute to Elias Tanenbaum that is played with conviction and verve.” It was followed by a second CD of the music Laura Kaminsky, “played with warmth and variety” (American Record Guide). Ensemble Pi is currently working on its third CD. www.ensemble-pi.org
APRIL 1 - 16 | 7:30PM
Throughout three weekends in April, current and past Object Movement Puppetry Residency artists will present a brand new piece, developed while in residence at The Center at West Park.
Curated by Maiko Kikuchi, Rowan Magee, Marcella Murray, and Justin Perkins, Object Movement supports the development of new work that addresses eternal human questions and the urgent challenges of our society today through puppetry and object theater, culminating in an annual festival of short performances.
CAULDRON OF THE SECRET SELF
Created By SAMANTHA CC
MAY 19 - 21
AT LA PLAZA CULTURAL COMMUNITY GARDEN
Cauldron of the Secret Self is a multimedia ritualistic performance created by Samantha CC and heavily influenced by Black folk magic traditions such as Hoodoo. These traditions often involve the "calling in" of ancestors as spirit guides. Through this work Samantha explores both the wisdom of her ancestors and the fact that many of them had to use compromise and conformity as survival tactics. This performance acknowledges that reality and envisions an alternate world where the ancestors are unburdened from these choices and able to fully embrace a liberated mind state.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
SAMANTHA CC (She/They) 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.
WELCOME TO IMAGI*NATION: PART 3
CREATED BY CARMEN CACERES
MAY 25
Carmen Caceres returns with Welcome To Imagi*Nation: Part 3. This immersive, ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ performance brings audiences and performers together to take part in a mass production competition while facing multiple challenges. Searching for conflict resolution, the audience will experience the motivations and consequences of migration.
This is the third and last piece of a three parts project that was previously developed over two residencies at the Center at West Park in the Spring and Fall of 2021. During the live performance, the audience will get to choose whether to immersively participate in the piece alongside dancers on stage, or interact virtually with their smartphones through a polling system. Ultimately, the audience participation will dictate the narrative of the piece.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
CARMEN CACERES (She/Her) is a New York-based dance artist, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. With her company, DanceAction (DA), she produces performing artworks in collaboration with multidisciplinary artists. DA has participated in numerous festivals and performance series including the “Women Center Stage Festival” in New York, “Ticino in Danza” in Ticino, Switzerland, “FIDCDMX” in Mexico City, and “Human Lights Festival” in Atlanta. She has performed and presented work at multiple prestigious venues like Dixon Place, the Mark Morris Dance Center, Judson Memorial Church, and St. Marks Church. Her works have been awarded the Brooklyn Arts Fund Community Grant, the Dance/NYC Emergency COVID-19 Grant, and most recently the City Artist Corps Grant. This spring DA will be participating in the third consecutive residency at The Center at West Park developing Welcome to Imagi*Nation: Part 3. Carmen has performed and collaborated with artists Katie Rose McLaughlin, Lisa Parra, Elia Mrak, and Sarah Berges among others. She received a BA in Dance and Education at SUNY Empire and deepened her studies at the former Merce Cunningham Studio in New York. In her native city, she graduated from the National School of Dance and the National University of the Arts UNA.
LAUREN HLUBNY (She/Her) is the NYC Artistic Director of the Franco-American company Danse Theatre Surreality (DanseTheatreSurreality.org). Hlubny's work centers on image-as-metaphor, physicality, social justice, and interdisciplinary communication, and her research focuses on the intersection of movement and storytelling. Hlubny has been invited to share works in France, Italy, Seattle, San Francisco, Birmingham, Knoxville, New Orleans, Portland, and in museums nationwide, including the Dali Museum. Hlubny studies Martial Arts and Anthropology in New York City, where she works as a director who originates works at venues such as Joe’s Pub, Triskelion, The Kraine, Shetler Studios, TADA! Youth Theater, Mark Morris, and La MaMa. Fascinated by multifaceted productions, combat, and consent, Hlubny also enjoys working as a dramaturg and acting coach for choreographers, and as a choreographer for theatre and opera. Hlubny was an artist-in-residence for her piece īs, a dance-concerto last August at the Shed Seattle, and serves as co-director/dramaturg for DanceAction’s latest work Welcome to Imagi*nation directed and choreographed by Carmen Caceres.
EMILIO TEUBAL (He/His) is a pianist/composer/arranger from Argentina based in New York. He has recorded over twenty albums, both as a sideman and as a composer/bandleader including the 2018 Latin Grammy Winner album Vigor Tanguero by the Pedro Giraudo Group. Emilio identifies his artistry and creative search to the music of Latin America and the permanent elasticity of its stylistic limits. Prior to Tides, he has released albums Memorias de Otro Tiempo (2018), Música Para Un Dragon Dormido (2013), La Balteuband (2006), and Un Monton de Notas (2009). Emilio has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the United States such as The Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Blue Note, and Joe's Pub. He has been touring Japan regularly since 2018 performing in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and other cities. He has also been an essential member of multiple ensembles such as the Pedro Giraudo Quartet, Pablo Lanouguere Quintet, Sergio Reyes’s Romancero Latinoamericano, Erik Friedlander, and Satoshi Takeishi. Emilio is a recipient of the 2007 Meet The Composer’s Van Lier Fellowship and has been commissioned to write music for Saint Peter's Church, for Dan Lippel, and for the Adam Tully Tango trio.
SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH
DIRECTED BY VALERIE PETER CHONG
June 2 - 11
CWP's Resident Shakespeare company Hamlet Isn't Dead (HID) returns to our Sanctuary Space with their reimagining of the classic tragedy of power, murder, and madness.
Just as Shakespeare did, HID provides an authentic sense of joy to every audience member, regardless of race, creed, religion, or financial situation, by presenting the best theatrical experience possible, allowing audiences to witness and become a part of the sublime.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
HAMLET ISN’T DEAD At Hamlet Isn’t Dead, we know that shared emotional and intellectual experiences are vital to all people. As Shakespeare did, we provide an authentic sense of joy to every audience member, regardless of race, creed, religion, or financial situation. Our mission is to present the best theatrical experience possible, allowing you to witness and become a part of the sublime.
King Lear In The Forest
Created By G^2
JUNE 23 - 25
King Lear In The Forest (KLIF) is a multi-disciplinary performance piece that unravels the perceived, known, and yet to be known identities of the duo-ship G^2 through the lens of race, gender, age, and sexuality, as they traverse a metaphoric forest that generates a chimera of kinetically contemplative and visually-rich psychological territories.
The text of King Lear and Jarmusch’s “Champagne” from Coffee & Cigarettes, a seemingly unlikely pair, similar to Beth & John, acts as a lens to explore identity and perception. connections arise from an expectation of difference and provide a view into a unique friendship that undergoes a morphing quest to find greater freedom amidst internal and external dissonances.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
JOHN MARIA GUTIERREZ (He/They) is an actor, mover, maker, and educator who performs on screen and stage nationally and internationally. As the first person in his family born in the US, John is carving out and balancing their own identity within his family, cultural history, and artistic expression. Their work combines acting, bboy and postmodern aesthetics, original music, singing, and experimental theater to unwind a complex urban disparity brought on by social and systemic failings.
Recent credits: 1001, Focus Features/Warner Bros., Law & Order: SVU, NBC Universal, King Lear In The Forest, The Center at West Park (presented as part of g^2 Spring 2021 Residency), New York Live Arts (2021 Fresh Tracks Artist), La Mama ETC. (2020 Artist In Residence).
BETH GRACZYK (She/Her) is a body-based artist based in Brooklyn/Lenapehoking whose 20-year career as a creative-maker and bench scientist has allowed her to cultivate a unique perspective that reaches actively within and between the forms of art and science. Graczyk seeks to work with populations whose experiences are often ignored including female-identified, neurodiverse, and LGBTQIA+ bodies. Since 2002, Graczyk has performed throughout the US and in Japan, Ecuador, France, China and India, and in NYC has been presented by Gibney, La Mama, Jack, CPR, and Movement Research amongst others. She has a collaborative partnership with John Maria Gutierrez (G^2) and is on Faculty for the Peridance Certification Program. Concurrently, Graczyk is an author on 10 science publications and received a 2020 Pilot Award from Rockefeller University with collaborator Guadalupe Astorga for research on visual perception and neurodiversity. Graczyk co-directed the performance company Salt Horse in Seattle from 2008-2016 where they received funding from 4 Culture, Artist Trust, Washington State Arts Commission, NEA, and commissions including City of Seattle, Northwest Film Forum, and Cornish. As a performer, she has worked with many artists including Mark Haim, Sara Shelton Mann, Raja Kelly, Amy Chavasse, and K.J. Holmes. @bethgraczyk
Institutional Supporters
The Center at West Park’s Spring 2022 Season 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, the Jim Henson Foundation, and the Puppet Slam Network.
