Sibyl Kempson: 
12 Shouts to the Ten Forgotten Heavens: Fall Equinox

Floor One, Kenneth C. Griffin Hall, Pamella and Daniel DeVos Family Largo, and on the High Line

This event is free and open to the public and occurs outdoors, rain or shine. Please dress for the weather.

The seventh Shout in this cycle of twelve rituals celebrates the Autumnal Equinox. The performance will begin at 12 pm in front of the Museum and in the Lobby, and will be ongoing until it concludes at the time of the Equinox on September 22, 2017 at exactly 4:02 pm EDT. Audience is invited to arrive at anytime; there will be three looped sojourns to another world on the hour at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm.

This Equinox is a day of double meaning. It presents a choice between good and evil and provides an opportunity to re-balance the scales; a moment to prepare for the darker days ahead. A time of solitude, it offers a moment to reflect on ancestors, and to forgive and forget.

This Shout will begin with an artist-led workshop in the Lobby. Conjuring the aid of unidentifiable ancient visitors, participants will create doll beings that personify the cosmological forces of nature. The audience will then traverse the outdoor areas in front of the Museum, and venture to the High Line—a higher, golden land—over the course of the afternoon. Elaborating on last year's autumnal themes of sacrifice, death, and reaping, this Shout further delves into animist narratives of the project's ritual practice.

12 Shouts to the Ten Forgotten Heavens is a three-year iterative performance project by American playwright, director, and performer Sibyl Kempson with her theater company, 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr. & Perf. Co. Presented at the Whitney on twelve occasions, 12 Shouts will mark each solstice and equinox occurring between March 2016 and December 2018 creating a new ceremonial calendar and a contemporary mythology. This Shout is co-hosted by the Whitney Museum and High Line Art.

About the Artists

Sibyl Kempson is a playwright, director, and performer, and a 2014 United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow. She founded 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr. & Perf. Co., presenting Let Us Now Praise Susan Sontag at the Abrons Arts Center in 2015 and Public People's Enemy at the Ibsen Conference in Skein, Norway in 2016. Her plays have been presented in NYC, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Omaha, Bonn, and Austin, TX. She is a recent graduate of New Dramatists, Class of '17, a 2010 MacDowell Colony Fellow and a 2013–14 McKnight National Resident and Commissionee.

Performers
Kira Alker
Dee Dorcas Beasnael
Tymberly Canale
Hye Young Chyun
Sibyl Kempson
Elke Luyten
Jodi Melnick
Alexis Powell
Kourtney Rutherford
Ruby Stenhouse
Jessica Weinstein
Sarah Willis 

Collaborators
Tei Blow: sound design
Suzanne Bocanegra: costume design
Omie Johnson: astrological dramaturgy
Kira Alker and Elke Luyten: choreography
Alexis Powell: musical composition
Amanda Villalobos: doll being design and construction
Molly Zimmelman: stage management

Production Assistance
Ashley Chen: doll being design and construction
Johnny Gasper: sound assistance
Livia Reiner: intern