Livestream February 25 & 26, 2021 at 7 PM and February 27, 2021 at 2 PM
Experience stunning visuals and deeply human narratives in this poignant work designed for audiences of all ages. Free – pre-registration is required.
Woven from young refugees’ accounts of their journeys, CARTOGRAPHY combines simple storytelling with interactive video technology to recount experiences of modern-day migration from a youth perspective. Developed by theater director Kaneza Schaal and author/illustrator Christopher Myers, CARTOGRAPHY empowers viewers young and old to share their experiences of searching for home: What journeys have you taken? What maps have you made for yourself along the way?
Production and Sponsor Credits
Conceived and Created by Kaneza Schaal & Christopher Myers
Directed by Kaneza Schaal
Written & Designed by Christopher Myers
Produced by ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann
Lighting & Production Management by Chelsie McPhilimy
Interactive Video Design by Joshue Ott (US) with Pierre Depaz, Grace Huang, Andrija Klaric, and Mateo Juvera Molina (Abu Dhabi)
Sound Design by Anthony Sertel Dean
Created in Collaboration with Performers MALAIKA UWAMAHORO, NOOR HAMDI, VICTORIA NASSIF & JANICE AMAYA
CARTOGRAPHY was made possible by the generous support of The Joyce Foundation, and was workshopped and presented as a rehearsed reading in April 2018 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of New Visions/New Voices 2018.
Commissioned by John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, Playhouse Square, Cleveland; Wesleyan Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University, CT; and with development support provided by Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Developed as part of New Victory Lab Works at The New Victory Theater in New York City, and at The Performing Garage as part of The Performing Garage Presents Residency Program.
Funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.
Cartography is also made possible [in part] by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.* The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities seeds, supports, and strengthens public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders.
*Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About the creators of CARTOGRAPHY
KANEZA SCHAAL & CHRISTOPHER MYERS are acclaimed New York City-based visual and theater artists whose past works include GO FORTH, premiering to great acclaim as part of PS122’s COIL 2015. Kaneza Schaal’s creations follow an extraordinary history of work with Elevator Repair Service, The Wooster Group, Richard Maxwell/New York City Players, and New York City Opera bringing her to venues including Centre Pompidou, Royal Lyceum Theater Edinburgh, The Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and MoMA. Her work has been supported by Baryshnikov Arts Center, Performance Space 122, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Theater Communications Group, Princess Grace George C. Wolfe Award, Bogliasco Fellowship, and Kara Walker’s 6-8 Months Space.
Award-winning illustrator Christopher Myers is the son of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers. In 1998, the two collaborated on Harlem, which was named a Caldecott Honor Book as well as a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. Myers’ solo effort, Black Cat, was also a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. His most recent books include Firebird, written by Misty Copeland, Jake Makes a World written by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, and My Pen written by himself. The Kennedy Center has adapted three of Myers’ books to the stage for young audiences. His sculptural work has been shown at PS1-MoMA, Contrasts Gallery in Shanghai and the Sundance Film Festival. Most recently Myers was included in the Prospect Biennial in New Orleans, where he and his collaborators, the Propeller Group, organized a funeral march that went from Saigon to the Lower Ninth Ward.
