Open Call: DonChristian Jones

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

Sean Meehan, Assistant Video
Maytté Martinez, Lighting Programmer
Mike Diaz, Assistant Carpenter
Josh Liebert, A2/Monitor Engineer
Lisa DelCegno, Camera Operator
Joseph Dungan, Camera Operator

This piece is dedicated to my mother and her four sisters—Toni, Karen, Donna, Tracey, and India. To my grandmothers, Irma and Real. My father, Rick. My brother, Iman, and his mother, Chenita. To my Pop Pop Don. To all my cousins. It is also dedicated to my friends who are family that helped me see through this vision. I love you.

I thank the Shed team and curatorial staff for all the encouragement and support along the way.

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.

Upon arriving for DonChristian Jones’s performance, you will enter into The McCourt where the performance has already begun. The total running time will vary depending on the time it takes for the audience to enter and get settled, but is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The McCourt will be lit in ambient, moody, undulating colors. An ambient, mellow soundtrack will play throughout the performance. Seats will be arranged in three concentric circles with pods of two seats distanced seven feet from each other.

The performers will stand on individual platforms scattered throughout the space, moving from platform to platform during the run of the show. As they move from platform to platform, the different performers will become progressively more audible and visible to different audience members. Some of the performances will be more active than others, with extended periods of dance. A car will sit in the performance space as a visual centerpiece and physical presence anchoring the platforms.