Events

The Programs in Theater and Music Theater present the first production of a new music theater work commissioned through the Roger S. Berlind ’52 Playwrights-in-Residence Fund and developed by guest artists and Princeton students in the spring course “Theater Rehearsal and Performance.” Book and lyrics by Joanna Evans and Shariffa Ali, music and lyrics by Avi Amon, directed by Shariffa Ali.

What memory does our clothing hold, and what insight does it offer into the things we cannot see? This new music theater piece is a fantasia on history and material culture across multiple universes and phases of production, consumption and reuse.

Tickets are $10 students (or FREE using Tiger Tickets through Passport to the Arts), $12 seniors; $12 general admission in advance; $17 general admission day of the event. Purchase tickets online through University Ticketing, at the Frist Campus Center Ticket Office, by calling 609-258-9220, or at the door prior to performances.

 


This event is cosponsored by the Princeton University Office of Sustainability.

DRAMATURGICAL RESEARCH

We Were Everywhere was developed by guest artists Shariffa Ali, Avi Amon and Joanna Evans with Princeton students through the 2019 spring semester course “Theater Rehearsal and Performance.” Starting in February the artists and students have been working to devise, write and develop the new work, exploring distinct environments over time related to clothing. In the first half of the semester the artists led the students through a series of sensory workshops and the students developed material based on their own personal clothing items and their memories. They pulled items from the Lewis Center’s costume shop and explored the feel and sensations of various pieces of clothing. The students conducted dramaturgical research based on images of clothing and the various worlds of clothing production. Amon worked with the students to create a sonic environment and sound concepts for each of these worlds, and the artists collaborated with the students to develop spoken word into lyrics to accompany the music, which is more an embodiment of the mood of the period or location than direct historical reference. Following are some samples of the dramaturgical research assembled by the collaborators.

COTTON PLANTATION

The Cotton Plant
Picking Cotton
How The ‘New World’ Symphony Introduced American Music To Itself

FACTORY

Information on Factories Spanning 1880-1940
Factory Songs
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Singer Sewing Machine Manual
Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Manual

MALL

New York Times Ode to Malls
Some Poppin’ Malls

PILES

2017 State of Reuse Report
Gikomba Market Thrift Shopping Experience

DRAMATURGICAL RESEARCH PHOTOS

PRODUCTION PHOTOS

Map + Directions

The Wallace Theater is located on the Forum (street) level of the Wallace Dance Building at the Lewis Arts complex, 122 Alexander Street, Princeton. View map of Lewis Arts complex

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Presented By

  • Office of Sustainability
  • Program in Music Theater
  • Program in Theater

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