Rehearsal of Daniel Alexander Jones's piece Black Light. Photograph courtesy of the artist.
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The McCarter Theatre, the Tony Award-winning performing arts center on the campus of Princeton University, will premiere a set of commissioned performances on March 24 and 25, 2023 as part of a robust calendar of campus-wide programming celebrating the acclaimed author Toni Morrison’s (1931–2019) life and legacy. The performances are the result of collaborations with McCarter’s Associate Artistic Director Nicole A. Watson and Autumn Womack, curator of Princeton University Library’s exhibition Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory and assistant professor of English and African American Studies. Multidisciplinary artists Daniel Alexander Jones and Mame Diarra Samantha Speis visited the University Library’s Toni Morrison Papers archive, a large trove of personal papers, letters, manuscripts and objects that were acquired by the University in 2014 to inspire original creations.
The performances will be sneak-peeks of their works-in-progress, and take place Friday and Saturday, March 24 and 25, 2023 at McCarter’s Berlind Theater Rehearsal Studio, in conjunction with a 3-day symposium organized as part of the concurrent exhibitions Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory, the first public viewing of the around a 100 original objects from the Toni Morrison Papers, and Cycle of Creativity: Alison Saar and the Toni Morrison Papers, which pairs Morrison’s letter and lectures with Saar’s artworks, on view at the Princeton University Library and at the Museum’s auxiliary exhibition venue, Art@Bainbridge. In addition, the Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, will debut an original composition with Princeton University Concerts at the Richardson Auditorium on April 12, 2023.
“These performances speak to the collaborative and interdisciplinarity ethos of Morrison’s practice,” said Womack. “They prove that the Toni Morrison Papers continue to inspire artists and makers, as Morrison’s work has always done.”
While McCarter has a long history of commissioning plays, this is notably the first time the theater is commissioning multi-hyphenate performance artists, which are the culmination of a residency that began in 2022, during which the selected artists were given access to the Toni Morrison Papers. Since then, the artists have worked with Womack and referenced the historical materials with an emphasis on Morrison’s unfinished manuscripts as a point of departure, responding to what they uncover via dance, performance and theater. Both works will be presented during the Sites of Memory symposium weekend.
“Through conversations with Autumn and the curatorial team, McCarter was invited to envision new ways of breathing fresh air into the archives,” said Nicole A. Watson, BOLD Associate Artistic Director of McCarter, and Curator of the commissions. “Like Morrison, the commissioned artists are expansive in their imaginative and creative genius, political prowess, and civic engagement. This is a rare opportunity to both give voice to Morrison’s magnificent legacy and to amplify the work of singular artists who are in the process of building artistic legacies themselves.”
Debbie Bisno, McCarter’s Director of University and Artistic Partnerships noted “Our participation in the University-wide programming centered around the Toni Morrison Papers builds on the success of recent projects that amplify scholarship and contribute to current campus conversations.” McCarter and Princeton share a successful history of creative collaborations. Recent cross-campus initiatives include original plays for The Princeton and Slavery Project, an exploration of Princeton University’s history of slavery in 2017 and Manic Monologues: a Conversation on Mental Health, a series of virtual theater experiences that address mental health illness. “This project illustrates McCarter's unique role as a creative hub for arts and ideas and the innovative ways we intersect with Princeton to bring art in dialogue with campus life, and the larger community.”
Performances take place on March 24 and 25 at 8pm at McCarter’s Berlind Theater Rehearsal Studio, 91 University Place in Princeton, NJ. Tickets are $25 at www.mccarter.org.
This event is free for Princeton University students with Passport to the Arts using code PUTIGER. More on how to book student tix online: www.McCarter.org/tigertix and Learn more about Morrison spring 2023 programming.
About the Artists
Daniel Alexander Jones is a Black, Queer playwright, songwriter, performer, director and professor who is well-regarded for his alter-ego Jomama Jones. A PEN Literary award winner, Jones is known for weaving witty monologues and original songs into explorations of racism, politics and history.
Mame Diarra Samantha Speis is a dancer and choreographer whose work incorporates play, risk, rigor and experimentation. She is a performer and the Co-Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Urban Bush Women, receiving accolades for her work in Cannabis!, a show celebrating marijuana while interrogating America’s hostility toward it.
Cécile McLorin Salvant is a composer, singer, and visual artist. The McArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy award-winning jazz vocalist is known for her emotive, highly resonant voice and swinging virtuosity, having won the Thelonious Monk competition in 2010. She has received Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album for three consecutive albums, The Window, Dreams and Daggers, and For One To Love, and was nominated for the award in 2014 for her album WomanChild.
About the Curator
Nicole A. Watson is the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at McCarter. Previously she was the Associate Artistic Director at Round House Theatre. On behalf of both theaters, she created the Adrienne Kennedy Festival in which she directed a digital version of Kennedy’s He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box. As part of her work at McCarter, she co-curates Bard at the Gate with Paula Vogel. In addition to her work as an arts leader, Nicole continues to work as a freelance director and educator.
For more information on the artists and commissioning process, see www.mccarter.org.
An independent not-for-profit performing arts center located between New York City and Philadelphia – and on the campus of Princeton University – McCarter is a multi-disciplinary creative and intellectual hub offering theater, music, dance, spoken word, and educational programs for all ages that inspires conversations, connections and collaborations in our communities. We lead with our values of justice and joy, and we seek beauty in belonging. Celebrated for developing new work and winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, world premieres include Christopher Durang's Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Tony, Best Play), Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays, Emily Mann's Having Our Say. Renowned artists who have appeared at McCarter include: Alvin Ailey, Yo-Yo Ma, Audra McDonald, David Sedaris, The Moth, Terence Blanchard, Roseanne Cash, the rock band Lake Street Dive, Shawn Colvin, more. McCarter connects with the community year-round via various community reading event opportunities, digital programming, on-site classes and in-school residencies. McCarter and Princeton University share a long history of unique partnerships and creative collaborations.
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