EPSG:4326

New Music Ensemble

The University of Texas at Austin

### Event Description: Open Call: Asia Stewart - The Shed

**Event Title:** Open Call: Asia Stewart

**Dates:** July 25 - 27

**Time:** 7:30 PM

**Location:** The Griffin Theater, The Shed, 545 West 30th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues, New York, NY 10001

**Event Overview:**
Join us for a captivating theatrical performance by Asia Stewart, titled "Fabric Softener," as part of The Shed's Open Call series. This work-in-progress showing is a ritual response to Toni Morrison’s "Song of Solomon" and serves as a tribute to Black matrilineal wisdom. The performance is free to attend with a ticket reservation.

**About the Performance:**
"Fabric Softener" is a theatrical response to Toni Morrison’s "Song of Solomon," offering an imagined ritual with the power to revive young Black women and insist on their survival. Asia Stewart draws on three characters from Morrison’s novel—Pilate, her daughter Reba, and granddaughter Hagar—and reimagines them as archetypes: The Laundress, The Celebrant, and The Witness. The performance begins with The Celebrant and The Witness preparing The Laundress for an intervention: a baptism, a becoming, and a funeral for what used to be and can no longer exist. The performance is punctuated by musical outbursts of spirituals and passages from the novel.

**Creative Team:**
- **Asia Stewart:** Creator, Director, and Performer
- **Dominica Greene:** Performer (The Celebrant)
- **Candice Hoyes:** Performer (The Witness)
- **Yaz Lancaster:** Composer, Music Director, and Violinist
- **Shala Miller:** Performer (The Narrator)

**Ticket Information:**
- Admission to Open Call events is free with a ticket reservation.
- Members receive early access to reservations beginning Tuesday, June 25. Become a member today.
- Reservations will be available to the general public on Thursday, June 27.
- For sold-out performances, an in-person waitlist will be available 15 minutes before the show begins.

**Accessibility:**
- The Griffin Theater has accessible seating. Please contact us in advance to discuss your needs by emailing accessibility@theshed.org or calling 646-455-3949.
- Assistive listening devices are available at the entrance to the theater.
- ASL interpretation and audio description will be available at the Friday, July 26 performance. Audio description is delivered via the free Listen Everywhere app on your personal device.

**Contact Information:**
For more information about accessibility and arriving at The Shed, visit our Accessibility page. For questions or other requests, email accessibility@theshed.org or call 646-455-3494.

**Additional Support:**
"Fabric Softener" was commissioned by The Shed as part of Open Call’s third edition (2023-24) and is supported by various organizations including Franklin Furnace, YoungArts, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

**Acknowledgments:**
Special thanks to Robert Rising & NYCitySlab, Nicholas K, and Gotham Production Studios for supplying set pieces, costumes, and audio recording equipment. Development was made possible by The Watermill Center, NARS Foundation, GALLIM, ART/New York Theatre, and Amanda James.

**In Memory Of:**
This performance is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Jean Lockhart.

**Note:**
All text and dialogue in this performance is reprinted and performed by permission of the Estate of Chloe A. Morrison. Copyright Estate of Chloe A. Morrison, 1977.

Don't miss this unique and powerful performance that explores themes of survival, identity, and Black matrilineal wisdom through a blend of theater, music, and ritual. Reserve your tickets now!

Yaz Lancaster

Events

Past events

Nov 20, 2024

New Music Ensemble · Butler School of Music

25 - 27 Jul, 2024

Open Call: Asia Stewart · The Shed

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