In Context: Triptych (Eyes of One on Another)

Situated somewhere between erotic heat and cool classicism, the work of controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe obliterates the high-low divide, exploding classical conceptions of beauty. Fueled by a lifelong fascination with the artist’s transgressive, sacred-profane vision, composer Bryce Dessner (The National), in collaboration with Korde Arrington Tuttle, designer Carlos Soto, video designer Simon Harding, and director Kaneza Schaal (JACK &, 2018 Next Wave), invites us to experience these arresting images anew. Featuring photographic projections and a new score by Dessner—performed by the daring eight-person vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and a chamber orchestra—Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) examines how we look and are looked at, bringing us face to face with our innermost desires, fears, and humanity.

After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #Triptych.

Bryce Dessner on Triptych (Eyes of One on Another)

By Susan Yung

Triptych (Eyes of One on Another), at the Howard Gilman Opera House (Jun 6—8), features large-scale projections of the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe and combines music by Bryce Dessner with a libretto by Korde Arrington Tuttle, performed by Roomful of Teeth with Alicia Hall Moran and Isaiah Robinson, directed by Kaneza Schaal. We spoke to Dessner (whose band The National released its eighth album last week) about his connection to Mapplethorpe’s photography, how he structured his composition, and how Tuttle’s libretto influenced the music.

In Context: JACK &

Theater artist Kaneza Schaal joins forces with actor Cornell Alston and artist Christopher Myers to consider reentry into society after prison in the NY Premiere of JACK &. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles, videos, podcasts, and more. After you’ve attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #BAMNextWave.

Never Stop Dreaming: Q&A with JACK &'s Cornell Alston

By Charity Coleman

How can internal life be rebuilt after trauma? This Next Wave Festival, theater artist Kaneza Schaal joins forces with actor Cornell Alston and artist Christopher Myers to consider reentry into society after prison in JACK &. Learn more about Alston's journey to the stage below and be sure to catch him in the BAM Fisher October 17—20.

Photo: Christopher Myers

Antigone, Interpreted

Last weekend, book lovers convened in the seat of justice in Brooklyn to discuss a play translated, adapted, and performed in countless iterations: Antigone, which comes to BAM in a new translation by Anne Carson September 24—October 4. In the ornate Borough Hall courtroom, philosopher Bonnie Honig and playwright Ellen McLaughlin joined performer Kaneza Schaal to discuss the play.

Discussion begins in stately Brooklyn Borough Hall. Photo: Beowulf Sheehan

by Nora Tjossem

Approaching Antigone from a philosophical standpoint, Honig kicked off the event by proposing lamentation as political action—the eponymous character not as martyr, but as activist. McLaughlin introduced the piece as “perfect theater,” living on in such works as The Island, a two-man, play-within-a-play performance of Antigone set in South Africa, and her own Kissing the Floor, an adaptation set in the Depression era US.