David Byrne and Laurie Anderson will be part of NYC's Park Avenue Armory's new season of new commissions created by artists during and in response to the pandemic, presented in a socially distanced space with masks worn. The season is due to open March 24 with Bill T. Jones's Afterwardsness, followed at dates TBA by SOCIAL! the social distance dance club, an interactive experience conceived by Byrne, choreographer Steven Hoggett, and set designer Christine Jones, in which the audience is invited to dance in their own socially distanced spotlights to a curated playlist, with instructional voiceover by Byrne; and Party in the Bardo, in which Anderson and jazz pianist/composer Jason Moran perform, underpinned by drones from Lou Reed's guitars.
Works by David Byrne and Laurie Anderson will be among those presented as part of Park Avenue Armory in New York City's just-announced Social Distance Hall: a season of new commissions of dance, music,and theater created by artists during and in response to the pandemic. Health conditions and governmental regulations permitting, the season will premiere on March 24 with Bill T. Jones's Afterwardsness. Park Avenue Armory, with its immense, 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall and multiple airy rooms and entrances looks to welcome live audiences back in a completely socially distanced and safe environment.
SOCIAL! the social distance dance club (Dates TBA) is an interactive music and movement-based experience conceived by David Byrne, choreographer Steven Hoggett, and Tony Award-winning set designer Christine Jones. The audience is invited to dance in their own socially distanced spotlights to a specially curated playlist, all the while listening to an instructional voiceover by Byrne. Moving free-form or in sync with the spoken choreography, audience members take part in a communal moment of cathartic release in an anxiety-ridden time.
Party in the Bardo (Dates TBA) is a collaboration between Laurie Anderson and jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran. Anderson and Moran will perform each night, underpinned by the soundscape of LOU REED: DRONES, a sonic installation utilizing guitars from Reed’s collection and curated by his former guitar technician Stewart Hurwood. Over a series of days devoted to sonic meditations for the city of New York, Anderson and Moran will invite multiple musicians each day to create their own layer of sound over the Drones.
Tickets for these two events will go on sale at a later date, with additional details to be announced.
“Safety is our paramount concern ... and following a review of our processes and protocols by the Department of Health, we are confident that these programs will be safe and powerful experiences for audiences hungry for the kind of connection and community that only live arts can provide. We will cancel the productions if health conditions do not permit the opening,” said Rebecca Robertson, Founding President and Executive Producer of Park Avenue Armory. “Over the past months, it has been invigorating to offer employment to the artists and workforce of the cultural sector when such offers are so scarce. And it has been an honor to work with artists who have reflected this time is such varied, revelatory, and nuanced ways and with such artistry. They have pushed their practices in new directions, which will provide audiences with rare and unconventional experiences.”
Park Avenue Armory's health and safety protocols that meet or exceed government standards, including wearing masks at all times and rigorously enforced social distancing. If health conditions and governmental regulations do not permit the re-opening of the Armory on schedule, the performances will be canceled, tickets will be refunded immediately, and if possible, the performances will be rescheduled. For more details on all of the above, visit armoryonpark.org.
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