Exploring New York's Sheroes On Stage

Guild Hall has welcomed its second William P. Rayner artists-in-residence. From March 3 to 20, Catherine Galasso and company will be in residence in the East Hampton studio working on City of Wom_n — a dance work that reclaims New York City’s Sheroes, interrogating how histories are written and the criteria for who is remembered.

Manifesting as five distinct shows tailored to each of the five boroughs, the project utilizes the New York City subway system as a base to construct a theatrical tapestry of loose portraits of the women who lived, worked, and made names for themselves in this city from the 17th to the 20th century. Channeling women in their own words, the piece draws on memoirs, poetry, and interviews by a wide range of luminaries, including Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, prima ballerina Maria Tallchief, bearded sideshow performer Lady Olga, LES poet Diane Burns, and celebrity transwoman Christine Jorgensen. City of Wom_n is inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s iconic woman-centered subway map, and engages themes of activism, resilience, and legacy.

The team includes Catherine Galasso (director), Sheryl Sutton (dramaturg and performer) and performer/co-creators Martita Abril, Toni Carlson, Indah Mariana, and Saori Tsukada.

Throughout their residency, the creative team will continue their work and explorations of City of Wom_n through daily rehearsals, workshops/roundtables with Guild Hall’s Teen Arts Council, and a showcase of work to an invited audience. In addition, Galasso will meet several times with noted art historian, curator, and member of Guild Hall’s Academy of the Arts, RoseLee Goldberg.

“As we weave together first-person narratives of monumental, yet underrecognized, women from NYC history, we see our own struggles reflected back,” Catherine Galasso said. “Telling the stories of 25 marginalized women in just and respectful ways feels like an impossible task. But we embrace this impossibility as part of the process and believe that our honest and personal approach will at the very least inspire critical dialogue about who is remembered and how.”

My team and I had a truly revelatory time when we performed ‘notes on de groat’ at Guild Hall this past summer,” she added. “Maybe it was the pre-show talk by Robert Wilson and Sheryl Sutton, or the fact that this was our first time back on stage before a live audience post lockdown, or the incredible support that I felt from the entire Guild Hall team, but I left feeling like it was one of best performances of that show we had ever given. Guild Hall therefore feels like the ideal place to return to develop our next work, which represents exciting new territory for me as an artist.”

For more information about the residency, visit guildhall.org.