Then a Cunning Voice and A Night We Spend Gazing at Stars

by Emily Johnson / Catalyst

CURRENTLY TOURING

Beginning at dusk and continuing until after sunrise, Then a Cunning Voice and A Night We Spend Gazing at Stars is a gathering that weaves together stories and performance with the exchange of ideas, the sharing of food, and the endurance of spending a night together outside under the stars and sky.

Throughout the night, the audience is guided through a series of richly crafted encounters—part ritual, part lyrical adventure—created by Emily Johnson. A group walk. A series of self-illuminated duets and solos. Stories and song. Gathering around a fire, a feast, conversations, silences and welcoming a new day.

Under the night sky, at an outdoor gathering space, in and around 84 community-sewn quilts designed by Maggie Thompson, a participatory experience unfolds, inviting consideration of the histories we hold, and how we might envision our future, together.

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"It’s a sleepover to beat all sleepovers.” 

—New York Times

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Then a Cunning Voice and A Night We Spend Gazing at Stars premiered in August 2017 on Randall’s Island, presented by P.S. 122, and numerous community partners.

Then a Cunning Voice was created with generous support from MAP Fund and the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The project was developed with the support of residencies at Push Festival in Vancouver, BC; Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography in Tallahassee, FL; and a Forecast Public Art/RARE Residency in Richfield, MN.