Open Call: Troy Anthony
About this commission
A note from the artist:
In this revival we will honor the legacy of our Black ancestors who liberated themselves from enslavement and forged their own path to freedom. This is a space for anger and rage. This is a space for grief. This is a space for you to sit and be reminded that we have access to the strength and radical joy necessary to make it through this moment. The Revival won’t take away pain; it is a manifesto of community power that will shake us, and help us see each other in new ways. It will ask us to commit ourselves to the collective path forward. We will sing. We will shout. We will dance. We will rise together. We will be changed.
Credits
The Revival: It Is Our Duty
Created and Directed By Troy Anthony
Troy Anthony, Creator and Director
Bryan Joseph Lee, Producer
Matt Joslyn, Producer
Rachel Denise April, Production Stage Manager
Nia Blizzard, Associate Producer
Ashton Muñiz, Associate Producer
Brisa Areli Muñoz, Associate Director
Daisy Long, Lighting Designer
You-Shin Chen, Space Designer
Ava Tiye, Dramaturg
Baba OluDaré, Dramaturg
Sterling Overshown, Associate Music Director
Jon Thomas, Organist
DeVaughn Denegall, Bass Guitarist
Jai Wright, Drummer
CisXo D'Ferreiro, Guitarist
Core Ministers: Genesis Collado, Alysha Deslorieux, Manny Dunn, Natalie Louis-Charles, Chelsea Stone, Josh Walker
Ministers: Jai Mohan, Aury Krebs, Yolanda Brown, Tamara Williams, Matthew Corbin, Hannah Schenk, Mary Rose Go, Olivia Murphy, Kenzi James, John Lesley Morton, Michelle Brandt, Janette Martinez, Xiaoxiao Sun, Veda Kumarjiguda, Linda La, Sarah Edkins, Valarie Morris-Franklin, Niama Sandy, Madeline Ramos-Avenancio, Ryan Hill, Seth McMillan, Evan Duff, Dominique Duarte
Itohan Edoloyi, Lighting Design Coordinator
DJ Potts, Audio Design Coordinator
Erica Schnitzer, Stage Coordinator
Stefan Carrillo, Head Carpenter – McCourt
Stuart Burgess, Head Electrician – McCourt
Jim Van Bergen, Head Audio – McCourt
Adam Farquharson, Production Video
Maytté Martinez, Lighting Programmer
Mike Diaz, Assistant Carpenter
Josh Liebert, A1
David Paupaw, A2
Jarrett Krauss, Monitor Engineer
Creative Team
Baba OluDaré has been a student of Yoruba traditional music and dance for over 18 years. His father, Baba Canute Bernard Jr., began to train him in the art of sacred drumming when he was just three years old. Today, OluDaré follows in the footsteps of his father by teaching classes on the craft. Similarly, he has been dancing for Orisha since he could walk. Originally trained by his parents and “La Mora,” the Prima Ballerina of internationally esteemed dance company Ballet Folklórico Cutumba, OluDaré has garnered intimate and intricate knowledge of Orisha dance and movement. As an Aponni (leader of the ceremonial singing of Orisha), he continues the legacy of his mother, Iya Amma Oloriwaa!, founding director and youth development coach at Egbe Iwa Odo Kunrin*Binrin Inc. Under her guidance, OluDaré continues to grow as a singer, educator, entrepreneur, and spiritual leader.
As a dedicated student, educator, and priest of Ogun, OluDaré continues to bridge the gap between tradition and the youth of today. In 2020, OluDaré authored Breathing With Orisha, which has been archived in the Harvard University library as a living document of various breathing techniques meant to support communities of African descendants to combat the effects of Covid-19. Through Kìire Wellness, OluDaré brings this message and practice to the world in a tangible, online, family-friendly format that teaches Orisha movement and singing—two forms of sacred ancestral respiratory practice.
The Story of this commission
Order of Service
WELCOME
PRAISE AND WORSHIP
- SEND A REVIVAL
- ASSATA CHANT
- WE SPEAK YOUR NAME
INVOCATION
SCRIPTURE READING (“AFFIRMATION” BY ASSATA SHAKUR)
I believe in living.
I believe in the spectrum
of Beta days and Gamma people.
I believe in sunshine.
In windmills and waterfalls,
tricycles and rocking chairs.
And I believe that seeds grow into sprouts.
And sprouts grow into trees.
I believe in the magic of the hands.
And in the wisdom of the eyes.
I believe in rain and tears.
And in the blood of infinity.
I believe in life.
And I have seen the death parade
march through the torso of the earth,
sculpting mud bodies in its path.
I have seen the destruction of the daylight,
and seen bloodthirsty maggots
prayed to and saluted.
I have seen the kind become the blind
and the blind become the bind
in one easy lesson.
I have walked on cut glass.
I have eaten crow and blunder bread
and breathed the stench of indifference.
I have been locked by the lawless.
Handcuffed by the haters.
Gagged by the greedy.
And, if i know anything at all,
it’s that a wall is just a wall
and nothing more at all.
It can be broken down.
I believe in living.
I believe in birth.
I believe in the sweat of love
and in the fire of truth.
And I believe that a lost ship,
steered by tired, seasick sailors,
can still be guided home
to port.
TESTIMONY
- SAY HER NAME (BREONNA TAYLOR)
- I FEEL RAGE
- I WANT TO LIVE
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
- QUESTIONS
OFFERING
- GRATITUDE
PRAYER
- SERENITY PRAYER
SERMON
“OUR ANCESTORS ARE OUR WILDEST DREAMS”
ALTAR CALL/APPEAL
- ALTAR CALL
- FREE YOURSELF
BENEDICTION
- CELEBRATE YOU
Accessibility
The Shed’s spaces are all wheelchair accessible. This event takes place in The McCourt.
Assistive listening is available on your smartphone over The Shed’s free Wi-Fi network via the free Listen Everywhere app. Devices will be available for you to borrow at the ticketing desk if you do not want to use your own smartphone.
Download the Listen Everywhere app before you arrive.
This event will include ASL interpretation with Deaf interpreters coordinated and supported by a hearing interpreter (provided by Roxanna Aguilo and Brandon Kazen-Maddox). To request live audio description, please email info@theshed.org or call (646) 455-3494 at least 10 days in advance of the performance.
To learn more about what to expect during your visit and the performance, please read these descriptions.
If you have any questions or other requests, please email info@theshed.org or call (646) 455-3494.
What to Expect
Thank you for planning a visit to The Shed. We’re looking forward to welcoming you for Open Call. Currently, the entrance to our building is through The McCourt door on the east side of our building adjacent to the Hudson Yards Public Square. The McCourt is a large performance space created when The Shed’s shell, or movable roof, rolls out to cover the plaza on the east side of the building. You can access this entrance from 11th Avenue and Hudson Boulevard, just one block north of 30th Street, or from the 34 St–Hudson Yards subway station between 10th and 11th Avenues.
As you arrive at The Shed, you will enter The McCourt through a set of doors at the southeast corner of the building. It is close to the area where the High Line meets Hudson Yards at 30th Street. Most performances will take place in The McCourt. You will pass through this space to enter the rest of the building and access the Level 2 Gallery and The Tisch Skylights for the exhibition and other performances.
The shell of The McCourt is covered in a shiny, pillowy material, and its floor is level with the ground of the plaza. The Shed’s building, including The McCourt, is wheelchair accessible. You will scan your own ticket on your smartphone, with help if needed from a friendly visitor experience staff member standing nearby wearing a black t-shirt and ID badge on a purple lanyard.
Once you’re inside The McCourt, the space feels airy with 110-foot-high ceilings. Most of the walls are glass and let sunlight into the space. Light from the plaza and the Shops at Hudson Yards filters into the space after sunset.
The flooring in The McCourt is made of hard paving stones. They are in two shades of gray, and the lighter stones stretch across the east and west sides of The McCourt to form a large artwork by Lawrence Weiner that reads “In front of itself” in large letters. (This phrase is also the title of the work.) The letters on the east side of the space are partly covered by the Open Call stage so you can only partially read the phrase.
Seating in The McCourt is general admission, so you can choose from any available spot. The seats have armrests and thick cushions, and some are folding chairs that flip up as you stand up from them. If you would like help in finding a seat, a staff member at the entrance can guide you.
For any additional access needs or requests, please email info@theshed.org or call (646) 455-3494.
Thank you to our partners
Additional support for Open Call is provided by Jody and John Arnhold | Arnhold Foundation.
The creation of new work at The Shed is generously supported by the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund and the Shed Commissioners. Major support for live productions at The Shed is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund.