Scenic Design for the project of Lina Lapelytė —Golden Lion winner at the Venice Biennale—on a performance that brought together more than 270 children inside the vast neo-Gothic nave of Harlem Parish. The Speech (NYC) at the Performa @performanyc festival, documentation of the final performance
I designed and oversaw the creation of the monumental carpet that grounded the piece:
52 textile modules, hand-crafted at Studio Earl in Brooklyn, built as a large-scale puzzle that unfolds a landscape inspired by aerial views of cultivated fields. A scenic device conceived to accompany the energy, voice, and imagination of the youngest performers.
It was a project that demanded patience, collaboration, and great attention to detail—and one that expanded my practice. It reminded me, again and again, that scenography not only supports an action, but can also open meaning in multiple ways, even up to the very last moment.
Credits
Artist / Director
Lina Lapelytė @linalapelyte
Performance Director & Choreographer
Courtney Cooke @courtneycooke_
Scenic Design
Endi Ruiz @endi.ruiz
Scenic Fabrication
Studio Earl (Brooklyn) @studio__earl
Production
Caitlin Addams @voicetemperature
Technical Director
Brendan Bercik
Stage Management
Isabella Thorpe-Woods
Martita Abril
Nailah Roberts
Ella Dawn W-S
Performers
Poly Prep Country Day School students
Additional Performers
Vita Taurke
Zev Haworth
Frances Koper Heintzelman
Evelyn Dugan @evelyndugan_
Photography
@wlodarczyk
