the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table
Three queer researchers slip between the present and the past, becoming, interacting with, and learning from a chorus of voices from a critical moment in the queer liberation movement. the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table is a performance, immersive media project, and archive of queer care that stitches together stories from COVID-19 and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Photo by Beth Barbis
Photo by Beth Barbis
Photo by Beth Barbis
The script draws from interviews with caretakers, activists, organizers, and long-term survivors, and a companion app will allow the audience to access and add to the archive of queer care used in the performance.
This program is part of Inter[SECTOR], the CAC’s three-year multidisciplinary arts programming centering cross-sector engagements with the fields of carceral justice, healthcare, and the environment. Learn more
Companion Experience: Digital Archive of Queer Care
Follow this link to explore the archive on your mobile device, computer, or VR headset!
an archive of queer care, created by Joseph Amodie and Lyam B. Gabel, is an interactive landscape in virtual reality that maps queer and trans care across pandemics, from HIV/AIDS to COVID-19.
A companion piece to the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table the archive features the voices and stories queer and trans* people in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, New Orleans, and New York, including Adil Mansoor, Allie Reznik, Donna Persona, Ganymede Cupbearer, Richard, and others. The archive is an example of writing backward in order to imagine a queer future: the collision of what has been and what we imagine can be.
Conceived and Directed by Lyam B. Gabel
Media and Additional Research by Joseph Amodei
Clothing Design by jean-luc raimond deladurantaye
Sound Design by Eben Hoffer
Set Design by Sasha Schwartz
Lighting Design by André Segar
Composition by kei slaughter
Performed by and Developed with Hannah Cornish, Frank Davis, and Owen Ever
Stage Management by Leo Liotta
Audio Editing by Travis Wright
Scenic Assistant,:Peyton Koehler
Clothing Assistant: Emma Pollett
Dramaturgical Support by Sammie Paul
CAC Resident Technical Director: Jo Nazro
Sound Engineer: Steve Gilliand
Master Carpenter: Jebney Lewis
Master Electrician: Noah Samors
Electrician/Light Board Operator: Brantley McClendon
Line Producer: Maggie Tonra
Content advisory: the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table includes references to sex and sexuality, depression and suicide, drinking and drug use, illness, death and dying, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia. The production includes images of full nudity, onstage partial nudity, and the use of haze & strobe effects. There will be no late seating for these performances.
This program is part of Inter[SECTOR], the CAC’s three-year multidisciplinary arts programming centering cross-sector engagements with the fields of carceral justice, healthcare, and the environment. During the 2021-2022 season, Inter[SECTOR] examines a diversity of experiences and expressions emerging from issues of health; from the coronavirus to AIDS pandemic, technological innovations and designs in the healthcare field, to concerns of mental health, grief, disease, and ableness. Each project draws upon the artists own experiences and seeks to connect with impacted communities as well as general audiences. Learn more
Proof of vaccination or negative PCR test is required for admission to the CAC. Questions? Contact us at info@cacno.org.
the dance floor, the hospital room, and the kitchen table by Lyam B. Gabel received developmental support as part of the 2021 Director Residency Program of The Drama League of New York. (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Artistic Director; Bevin Ross, Executive Director). It is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by the Contemporary Arts Center in partnership with Chatham University and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information: www.npnweb.org. Additional support from the Carnegie Mellon University GSA/Provost GuSH Grant.
