Latest news with #DorisDukeTheatre
Boston Globe
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
At Jacob's Pillow this season, a chance to see new work in a brand new theater
'To bring this five years later to the new Doris Duke — being one of the first to perform [in the theater] after being one of the last — feels surreal, a full circle, like a phoenix rising from the ashes,' says Pitts, a 2024 Doris Duke Artist. 'This work really birthed on that land.' Touch of RED by Shamel Pitts. Touch of RED by Shamel Pitts. The Adeboye Brothers photo. Partly inspired by the mercurial footwork of boxing, 'Touch of RED' examines the perception of Black men in contemporary culture. Though it Advertisement The new Duke theater's embrace of technology is part of what makes its opening so momentous. Rebuilding the facility from the ground up allowed the Pillow to re-envision how it might best serve and inspire dance going forward. It is being touted as one of the dance world's most technologically advanced theaters, designed to help shape and inspire movement creativity as a 'living lab for the future of dance.' Pillow executive and artistic director Pamela Tatge says it can facilitate both intimacy and experimentation. 'We envision this as a maker space for new experiences that require time and resources,' she says. Rendering of the new Doris Duke Theatre's east entrance. Marvel/Jacob's Pillow Nearly twice the size of the original 1990 theater and seating from 220-400 people, the new theater complements the festival's fixed 600-seat proscenium space (the Ted Shawn Theatre) and the Henry J. Leir Outdoor Stage. It will continue to host emerging and experimental companies as well as those making US debuts, while offering the technical sophistication of artificial intelligence, extended reality, robotics, and immersive platforms. 'They set out, from the beginning … to make a performance space that changes with the new state-of-the-art, because it's always shifting, faster now than ever before,' says performer/writer/artist/ Andrew Schneider, whose world premiere 'HERE' using spatialized audio opens the Duke's ticketed season. '[They] asked the artists using the newest tech — how should we build this space, what should it look like? They really listened and they really got it right.' Advertisement Tatge says it was also important that the theater have a porous relationship between indoors and outdoors and is 'grounded in the Indigenous history of the land on which we dance.' Lead architect Francine Houben says she wanted to give dancers the possibility of moving not just in but through the building, from different sides and from above. Artists can even perform on the roof. The weeklong opening celebration features a schedule of free events, tours of the building, state-of-the-art performances, and multimedia installations that explore the intersections of dance, technology, and the human body. 'Dancing the Algorithm,' curated by Katherine Helen Fisher for the theater's new gallery, features artists whose works illuminate the boundaries of the human body and digital expression. Cherokee artist Brenda Mallory unveils her specially commissioned 'To Touch a Wide Span' in the newly redesigned Jameson Family Lobby. The gala opening program in the theater July 9 kicks off a performance season highlighted by world premieres and US debuts, with engagements by Pitts, Schneider, Elle Sofe Company (Norway), Eun-Me Ahn (Korea), Faye Driscoll, and Huang Yi (Taiwan). The star-studded one-night program, designed to unite past, present, and future, includes Annie-B Parson, Bebe Miller, Susan Marshall, Brian Brooks, Eiko Otake, Irene Rodríguez, David Thomson, Liz Lerman, David Dorfman, Dianne McIntyre, Dormeshia, Doug Elkins, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, among others. While in-theater viewing for the opening is invitation only, the Pillow's larger Ted Shawn Theatre, which reopened in 2022 after an $8 million renovation, hosts an on-campus screening ($75), and those of us at home can watch via a free real-time livestream (Registration for the livestream will be available at Advertisement 'I am most excited for artists and audiences to see the possibilities of this new space,' Tatge says. 'We're going to be so equipped for the possibilities of the future, and I hope artists and audiences feel that and it brings them hope at this time. … This theater belongs to everyone.' Karen Campbell can be reached at
Boston Globe
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Jacob's Pillow announces partial 2025 festival lineup
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The Advertisement Eun-Me Ahn will perform at Jacob's Pillow this summer. Eun-Me Ahn; Sukmu Yun photo In the Doris Duke Theatre, the partial roster of performers to appear this summer includes Andrew Schneider, Elle Sofe Company, Eun-Me Ahn, Shamel Pitts's TRIBE, Faye Driscoll, and Huang Yi. Programming for the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage will include performances by The School at Jacob's Pillow, including contemporary ballet, contemporary dance, and tap dance. In a press release, Jacob's Pillow Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge said the reimagined Doris Duke Theatre symbolized the new beginnings and new performers joining the Festival this year. '[W]e hope that all who accept our invitation will see how alive and exciting these rich histories are,' Tatge said. The full schedule of outdoor shows will be released in March, and the entirety of the Festival's schedule – including special exhibits, live broadcasts, workshops, and observations– will be released in April. Advertisement Haley Clough can be reached at
