The Wait Room
The Wait Room is a multidisciplinary dance work that exposes the physical, psychic, and emotional burden on women with incarcerated loved ones. Utilizing a large hydraulic stage shaped as a clock dial, the performance incorporates dance, installation, an original score by Pamela Z, and oral histories of women whose families are fractured by the carceral system.
Admission is complimentary for prison-impacted individuals and employees of organizations that are working to end mass incarceration in Louisiana. Interested in bringing a group? Contact us at info@cacno.org.
The Wait Room, featuring dancer Sonsherée Giles
The Wait Room is Part One of Jo Kreiter’s "Decarceration Trilogy: Dismantling the Prison Industrial Complex One Dance at a Time." The work was created in partnership with ESSIE Justice Group, an organization of women with incarcerated loved ones that addresses the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration.
As part of the CAC's Inter[SECTOR] program, this performance broadens engagement with New Orleans’ prison justice movement that is working to transform the conditions and policies that have led to Louisiana having the highest rates of incarceration in the nation. Learn more about Inter[SECTOR]
Pre-Performance Talks
Each performance of The Wait Room will be preceded by a moderated conversation featuring local artist and activist partners who are on the frontlines of ending mass incarceration.
- Friday, May 27 at 7:30 pm: Bruce Reilly, Norris Henderson, and Ivy Mathis (Voice of the Experienced)
- Saturday, May 28 at 5 pm: Ausettua AmorAmenkum, Kathy Randels, and Michelle Allen (The Graduates Rising)
- Saturday, May 28 at 7:30 pm: Tuere Burns, MEdFounder/Executive Director, BAR NONE by DeSign
- Sunday, May 29 at 7:30 pm: Maryam Henderson-Uloho (SisterHearts Thrift Store)
Decarceration and the Arts with Jo Kreiter and Guests
Decarceration and the Arts is a series of online conversations with artists and activists featuring San Francisco-based artist Jo Kreiter, Artist Director of Flyaway Productions and creator of the The Wait Room, a spectacular aerial work that depicts the trauma and challenges faced by families with incarcerated loved ones. These conversations anticipate the CAC's presentation of The Wait Room in Spring of 2022.
Watch Decarceration and the Arts on the CAC's YouTube channel
In year one, Inter[SECTOR] programs feature conversations, workshops, and performances created and led by women and non-binary artist/ensembles focusing on injustices in the prison system and the impact of mass incarceration on these communities. National artists, community activists, and prison-impacted communities in New Orleans and Louisiana are collaborating on a diverse program of dance, music, and theater.
Please consider supporting our community partners who are working to end mass incarceration:
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
Masterclass with Artist Jo Kreiter
The Wait Room was supported by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project (with lead funding from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Andrew Mellon Foundation); the Zellerbach Foundation; the NEA; Grants for the Arts; the California Arts Council; Pacific Eagle; and Eaton Workshop.
This presentation of The Wait Room at the CAC, as part of the Inter[SECTOR] program, is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project (with lead funding from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew Mellon Foundation).
