Reimagining Black Mountain in the Wex galleries

 

Alexandra Davis is a fourth-year undergraduate student at The Ohio State University. In May 2017, Ally will receive a dual-degree with honors in Theatre, B.A. and Strategic Communications, B.A. She’s the co-president of This Is Happening: a play-reading club, and a member of several committees within the Department of Theatre, in addition to interning with the Wex’s Public Programs team. Below, she shares her experiences and interactions during the final in-gallery performances for Leap Before You Look.

The month of December began on a high note at the Wex with the Ohio State student-led performances of Reimagining Black Mountain, in conjunction with the exhibition Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957. The typically quiet galleries of the Wexner Center were filled with sounds of music, storytelling, and laughter.

Created by Jennifer Schlueter, Associate Chair of Ohio State’s Department of Theatre, and her group of nine students, the performances ranged from a reenactment of a Black Mountain College faculty meeting to interactive performance art throughout the galleries that invited audiences to contribute stories, truths, and found text. The students involved included undergraduate and graduate students from the Departments of Theatre, English, and Dance.

Cece Bellomy, a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Department of Theatre, planted herself in Gallery B for her piece Black Mountain Pedagogy. In this, she asked those who approached her to write her a story. After reading the text out loud, Bellomy then offered a modification to the text, such as, “Would you rewrite this as science fiction?” or “Can you rip this apart and write it again from memory?”

“This is one of the first times that I’ve done a performance art piece,” said Constance Hester, a fourth-year undergraduate student in theatre, who usually finds herself in the director’s chair. “There was a lot of research involved that shaped what we did next. We found a lot of similarities and differences between our lives and the lives of artists at Black Mountain College and that pushed us in our work. Particularly with Ohio State’s theatre department, the biggest similarity with Black Mountain College is the emphasis on doing the work, rather than just learning about it.”

The pieces were performed in three cycles for attentive and engaged audiences. Most of the performances at least partially relied on audience interaction.

“Sometimes it can be really challenging in our world to find artistic inspiration, or to feel like you have agency to create something meaningful. Being in an art museum and witnessing (and taking part in) of-the-moment theatre is inspiring,” said audience member Joe Kopyt, an MFA Actor in Ohio State’s Department of Theatre. “I think the performances tonight definitely reflected the ethos of the college, and it’s really rare to find creative communities like that in today’s society.”

For more photos from the event, search the hashtag #blackmountainNOW or follow the ensemble on Instagram at @blackmountainnow.