Artist-in-Residence the after-image presents: Let's Exorcise! A Community Catharty Party
Thursday, March 21st | 6:00pm
Friday, March 22nd | 6:00pm
Sinners, Perspirators, Jazzercists! Grab your sweatband and join us for an interactive theatrical exorcism of the things holding us back. That artifact from your past that doesn’t belong in the trash, but needs to get the hell out of your life? You know the one. That sweater from your former friend, the ugly souvenir from that messy weekend, or the letter you wish you hadn’t kept from your ex...? If you feel ready to move on...bring it to Let’s Exorcise! and OFFER. IT. UP.
With a little help from our consummately qualified Catharty Captains, motivational jams, and stress relieving therabands you just might gift your object - and yourself - a brand new story.
What artifact could you bring?
● Any THING that you want to: release of its hold on you, wrest of its power, or get the hell out of your home.
● Digital things (text messages, emails, screenshots of dating app chats...) are fair game, but print them out or write them down for ease of use.
● Bring whatever you need to bring, BUT to protect everyone’s identities REDACT any last names, faces, addresses, phone numbers...we’ll also have redaction tools on site.
Are there any artifacts that are off limits?
● Live animals (be reasonable, folks)
● All the shit you can’t bring on an airplane
WARNING: Artifacts may get altered or destroyed during the exorcism. Only offer up objects that you are really ready to let go. OR JUST BRING YOURSELF; every ritual needs witnesses.
Doors open at 5:30 PM and MeMoSa begins at 6:00 PM
Capacity in the lab is capped at 40 audience members. Attendees who have RSVP'd before the event will have priority, and admission will be determined on a first come first serve basis on arrival. If you RSVP before the event but you arrive late, we reserve the right to give your spot to someone on the waitlist.
Attendees who have not RSVP'd will be put on a standby waitlist if they arrive in-person before the event.
the after-image is a NYC-based movement-theater company that develops original productions collectively, guided by the voices of each contributing artist. Fusing the instruments of theater, movement, audience interaction, and design, the after-image welcomes what might be possible in solidarity. Cultivating relationships of trust, reciprocity, and joy, the after-image grasps hold of the question “what is the art we need now?” and follows wherever that leads.
Founded in 2019 by Kate St. John and Amy Shoshana Blumberg and now under the Artistic Direction of Kate, Amy, and Zahydé Pietri, the after-image continually evolves its model for creating devised movement-theater. Drawing on Kate’s background in design, Amy’s in directing/choreography, and Zahydé’s in performance, the after-image builds out each team with performers, designers, and dramaturgs whose skills, interests, and world views shape the content and form of each production. And no matter the starting point, the after-image keeps the role of the audience as a central focus in each creative process. the after-image’s original evening-length works include he called it cymbeline (Temple University), RE: SHE a litany of adventures (Philadelphia Fringe Festival, 2019), HOUSE OF AMERICAN ACTIVITIES (Theater for The New City, 2022), and Let’s Exorcise! A Community Catharty Party (Caveat NYC, 2023).
the after-image is a Spring 2024 Artist-in-Residence at the Barnard Movement Lab. While in residence, the after-image will be collaborating with 3 courses of students to devise Flow Up! The Catharty Quest Continues, an interactive multimedia installation inspired by the themes and delights of Let’s Exorcise!