Sea Pageant
Jed Hancock-Brainerd and Rebecca Noon researched Rhode Islanders’ relationship with the ocean in preparation for a 100-person Sea Pageant performed on August 21, 2017 on First Beach in Newport during a solar eclipse. They found materials related to the ocean and epic poetry; recreation; performance; transportation; the slave trade; sailing races; shipping; immigration; indigenous, Colonial, and Victorian traditions; ecological changes; and hopes for the future. They will use their findings to create an epic choral piece with a group of generative artists, that includes dancers, poets, musicians, and visual artists that they then teach to a chorus of 100 performers. Join us as they will share some of what they learned and some of what they are creating.
Funded by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, the Open Sesame Project brings together six artists/scholars working in different genres to research into the Athenæum’s extensive collections.
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A native Rhode Islander, Jed has worked on plays in California, Alaska, London, and Egypt. In Rhode Island, he has performed with Trinity Rep, The Gamm, The Wilbury Group, and Elemental Theatre Collective. He received his BFA from the University of Rhode Island, his MFA from Naropa University, and is a graduate of LISPA.
Rebecca has been making plays from Juneau, Alaska to Cairo, Egypt since 2004 when she began collaborating with San Francisco-based theatre-makers, Mugwumpin. She moved to Providence in 2010, holds a BFA from the College of Santa Fe, and an MFA from the London International School of Performing Arts, and is the Community Engagement Coordinator at Trinity Repertory Company.
This season was generously supported by the following friends and partners:
