From left to right: Desmond Bing, Nora Achrati, Natalie Graves Tucker, Jeff Allin, Derek Goldman (director), James Johnson, and Craig Wallace. Rehearsing Terrance Arvelle Chisholm’s “In Constant Pursuit” inspired by Panel no. 3: From every southern town migrants left by the hundred to travel north. Photo: Kelley Daley
In conjunction with the recent exhibition People on the Move: Beauty and Struggle in Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series, the Phillips commissioned five local playwrights to create one-act plays in response to five specific panels in The Migration Series. The plays were presented twice as staged readings last fall, and on June 26th, 2017, the staged readings were recorded in the galleries alongside the artwork with the original cast and director.
The five plays address issues such as immigration, migration, racial tensions in America, and familial relationships. Filming the readings in the galleries, among the 30 panels The Phillips Collection owns, made for an interesting and meaningful atmosphere for the recordings. Read interviews with the playwrights here.
Recording “#51” by Laura Shamas, inspired by Panel no. 51: African Americans seeking to find better housing attempted to move into new areas. This resulted in the bombing of their new homes. Photo: Sarah Corley
Videographers Rob Migrin and Shaun Mir set up the scene for the recording of Annalisa Dias’s “A Legacy of Chains” while director Derek Goldman looks on. Photo: Sarah Corley