Our 2021 Season of music, opera, contemporary circus and processional arts again benefited from PS21’s unique open-air Pavilion Theater and breathtaking 100-acre campus, unmatched physical and environmental assets that ensured safe spaces for audiences. More than 45 events, conceived and staged for safe social distancing, in PS21’s theater and Dance Barn, in our fields, and along our trails, featured a roster of dancers and choreographers, musicians and singers, actors, directors, and international contemporary circus artists who are breathing life into traditional genres and fashioning new ones.
PS21’s 2021 season exceeded our hopes and brought innovative artistry to the Hudson Valley. The eerie suspense of Kuro Tanino’s The Dark Master, the Paul Taylor Dance Company revival of Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table, Les Hommes Penchés’ gravity-defying Instable, Modern Opera Fest’s reimagining of the genre, and the eclectic virtuosity of our House Blend Concert series were just a few of the highlights of an extraordinary season.
Outdoors, PATHWAYS: Blazing Trails to a Sustainable Future offered an entire season of free performances, arts and environmental education programs, and other participatory events and installations embedded in and responsive to the landscape. For 2021, we added another 1.5 miles of trails and expanded our schedule of events and performances with an environmental focus. In our Pavilion theater, The Extinctionist and Pan, two of the offerings in our Modern Opera Fest Series, gave dramatic expression to the challenges posed by the Anthropocene and climate change. The U.S. premiere of Branché, performed by Barcode Circus / Acting for Climate Montréal and the North American premiere of Les Hommes Penchés’ Instable,—both presented for the kids free of charge—were two international contemporary circus productions that were much-anticipated highlights of last summer’s Pathways.
The two shows are examples of a genre ideally suited to moving outside traditional theatrical settings to bring performance to the people, inspire environmental activism, and foster stewardship of natural resources (Branché was presented on site of the Town of Chatham’s Crellin Park during the Crellin Park Celebration Day and drew almost 600 spectators). For theater aficionados, famed actor/director Nicole Ansari, an alumna of Ariane Mnouchkine’s iconic Théâtre du Soleil and founder of Actors Rising, worked with local actors rehearsing and performing SHE/HER, intertwined monologues on themes of memory and identity.
■ World Premiere
▲ U.S. Premiere ⬤ PS21 PATHWAYS Programming PS21 Residency
Solo Pavilion for Two or Three | a site-responsive installation by James Casebere⬤ ■ Modern Opera Fest | The Extinctionist| Composed by Daniel Schlosberg, libretto by Amanda Quaid, directed by Louisa Proske ▲ The Escher Quartet | Bartok; Sibelius The Dark Master | Kuro Tanino | Copresented with the Japan Society ▲ Paul Taylor Dance Company | Company B,Esplanade, Aureole, and The Green Table House Blend Concert I | Shapey; Layton; Donatoni; Sanford; Kancheli House Blend Concert II | Biber; Wolpe; Nancarrow; Bach House Blend Concert III| Dallapicolla; Copland; Ligeti House Blend Concert IV | Pärt; Schoenfield; Lee; Ravel Modern Opera Fest | Pan | With flutist Claire Chase, directed by Doug Fitch Orpheus Chamber Orchestra | with Special Guests Caleb Teicher & Co. Bat & Moth Night | Led by the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program⬤ Branché | Barcode Circus and Acting for Climate Montréal ⬤ ▲ The Wooster Group Summer Institute | A free summer acting program led by theater luminaries Kate Valk, Ariana Smart Truman, and Christopher-Rashee Stevenson ⬤ She/Her | Meditative monologues on identity featuring local actors, directed by Nicole Ansari ⬤ ■ Instable | Les Hommes Penchés ⬤ Modern Opera Fest | Ipsa Dixit| Written by Kate Soper, directed by Ashley Tata | Featuring the Wet Ink Ensemble Modern Opera Fest | Savage Winter | Composed by Douglas Cuomo, featuring Frank London PS21’s Season Closing Celebration | Featuring Ecstatic Dance with DJ Joro-Boro | And The Maze by Art Duo TROUBLE Movement Without Borders 2021
Our 2021 Season of music, opera, contemporary circus and processional arts again benefited from PS21’s unique open-air Pavilion Theater and breathtaking 100-acre campus, unmatched physical and environmental assets that ensured safe spaces for audiences. More than 45 events, conceived and staged for safe social distancing, in PS21’s theater and Dance Barn, in our fields, and along our trails, featured a roster of dancers and choreographers, musicians and singers, actors, directors, and international contemporary circus artists who are breathing life into traditional genres and fashioning new ones. 
PS21 Residency