How We Found Performers for The Sea Pageant

The Sea Pageant was ALL AGES and ALL ABILITIES. It was tailored to the people who joined it. The ocean needs all kinds of bodies to perform for it, and each group worked with its members to make the piece theirs. Read more about each group here. 

BACKGROUND:

  • We prepared to make The Sea Pageant from 2014 to 2017.
  • In the summer of 2016 we started talking to groups of people about making it.
  • In October of 2016 we gave a Salon on The Sea Pageant at The Providence Athenaeum.
  • In April of 2017 we held drop-in rehearsals to make the raw materials of The Sea Pageant.
  • The only performance was August 21, 2017 during the day in coordination with a Solar Eclipse.

READ OUR SEA PAGEANT FAQ SHEET

If someone wanted to be a Group Member

  • Group Members learned the piece with their Group of 10 in their area.
  • They let us know their general schedule and geographic preference for rehearsal and we hooked them up with a Group.
  • We asked Group Members to attend most of the rehearsals organized by their Group.
  • Snacks were provided at all rehearsals and we assisted with transportation as we are able. 
  • Group Leaders were chosen based on their commitment to the project, the networks and communities they represent, and their desire to galvanize and organize people.
  • Lead artists, Jed Hancock-Brainerd, Rebecca Noon, and Casey Seymour Kim were present at all rehearsals to teach the piece and ethos consistently across groups. 

If someone wanted to help construct the physical space

  • A Visual Artist Group led by Emily Shapiro arrived on the morning of August 21, 2017 and executed a design for the performance space as the tide went out. 

If someone wanted to participate but could only come on the day of, we created a flash mob option with the finale:

(Here are the lyrics)

Song by Kirsten Volness & Jacob Richman

Choreography by Peter Deffet