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Dorsky Museum
Original monologues, group scenes and movement sequences. Production Design by Dan Daly.
"My background is in law. In the legal world, a devise is a gift. When you devise something to another, you give it freely and with no expectation of anything in return. Thank you for this devise, this gift of performance. " - LIZ D, Audience Member
This performance, “Reactivity and Communication,” was devised over two days of rehearsal in which the ensemble explored how found objects reacted or communicated with the artwork. The exhibition, guest curated by ransome, explored the theme of “Movement” from multiple perspectives, including migration, immigration, place, political displacement, social change, isolation, and physical motion itself.
Photo courtesy Eric Michael Pearson..
Frances Loeb Art Center, 2024.
Original monologues, scenes and movement sequences performed indoors and in the sculpture garden.
"From the start, performers turned themselves into living sculptures interacting with the audience through the window in a pantomime like style. It was an amazing, unforgettable art experience for our visitors." - PETER D, Museum Staff Member
This performance, “Evolving Impressions,” was devised over sixteen hours of rehearsal in which the ensemble explored the question, "How do our perceptions of visual art evolve as we age?" Presented as a part of Vassar College's 38th Powerhouse Season.
Samuel Dorsky Museum, 2024.
Original songs, monologues, drawings. Improvised scenes and music.
"My experience of the museum was heightened because I had someone drawing my attention to everything as opposed to just trying to make sense of things alone." - BLAKE L, Audience Member
This performance, "Transactions & Provocations," explored the transactions inherent in viewing and displaying art. What non-monetary kinds of transactions are possible in an art space? What if you had to give away something you made in exchange for entry to an exhibition? We explored these questions and more during this site-specific, audience participatory experience.
Frances Loeb Art Center, 2023.
Original monologues, scenes, movement sequences and choreography.
[The performance] was like the art was a vessel for the actors." - EMMA Z, Audience Member
Created over the course of just 16 hours of rehearsal, the ensemble embraced a line from the Body Matters exhibit as our guiding question; "How do bodies move through art, space, and time?" We invited audiences to ponder this question as they traveled through the performance.
Photo courtesy Eric Michael Pearson..
Samuel Dorsky Museum, 2023.
Original scenework with prop and costume design, songwriting, and choreography.
"Viewing the art after the performance, there were echoes of movement in my mind as I wondered how it might move if it could, how it might dance, what it might wish to say." - CEDRIC C, Audience Member
Our fourth production at The Dorsky was inspired by the exhibit Homespun, curated by Karlyn Benson. Featuring a range of approaches to textile art, Homespun explored how Hudson Valley artists are reinterpreting traditional crafts and “women’s work” in new and surprising ways. With this theme as our guide, we created a performance exploring the stories held within everyday textiles.
Photo courtesy Eric Michael Pearson..
Samuel Dorsky Museum, 2022
Original music and choreography, monologues and puppetry.
"I'm so thrilled that Performing Art was inspired by my retrospective at The Dorsky and created this event in the museum. What an honor!" - MARY FRANK, Artist
Entirely in person and performing live, we celebrated togetherness and the exhilaration of making art in real time after a COVID hiatus. We focused on bringing Mary Frank's beautiful and primal art to life through movement, sound, and story.
Samuel Dorsky Museum, 2021.
9 original films inspired by works on display, devised through remote collaboration and shot on-site. Viewable via QR Code.
Despite restrictions imposed by the pandemic, we created a series of short films that could be accessed in the museum via an interactive map while the 2021 Spring Exhibition was live, as well as virtually. Nine short films were produced that responded to 8 exhibits throughout the museum.
While each short film was created as a standalone piece, they have been preserved here as one unit.
Photo courtesy Eric Michael Pearson..
Samuel Dorsky Museum, 2020.
Original music, choreography, and scenework with audience interaction.
"It was a completely immersive experience that made me feel one with the museum and everyone who’s ever been in it." - JOSEPH D, Audience Member
Our first collaboration with The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art in New Paltz, NY had us exploring the following question: “What if the thoughts, shapes, conversations, and images of other people’s experiences stayed in the museum after they left? What if you could walk through that?” Our final production was an energetic romp through the galleries where our audience was invited to dance and laugh and even join us on stage as experts.
Our History
"Two organizations become greater than what they are individually… our exhibitions are now extending out of the walls and through people."
Zachary Bowman, Manager of Education & Visitor Experience at The Samuel Dorsky Museum
Our audience survey showed that 82% of participants reported their experience of the art in the exhibit was heightened by the performance.
"It was a lovely reminder of the subjective relationship we all have to artwork...to be able to experience the artwork collectively with other viewers and through the eyes of performers was very moving." - ALEX B, Audience Member
If you are interested in learning more about how a devised theater experience can benefit your institution, contact Artistic Director Liz Dahmen directly at liz@performingart.org.
Photo Katelyn Landis
Performance in Visual Arts Spaces
"I deeply appreciate how Performing Art helps both new and veteran audiences look at art--and the museum experience overall--in fresh and exciting ways. In over two decades working in art museums, I've rarely experienced a performance as inventive and full of insights, personal and profound, as Performing Art."
Amanda Potter, Assistant Director of Learning and Community Engagement at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College
Photo courtesy Katlyn Landis.
Performing Art is a collaborative performance project developed by Liz Dahmen that brings together an ensemble of local artists and community members to create a live performance in response to current museum and gallery exhibitions.
Please contact us below to learn more about what Performing Art can bring to your institution!