7 Stages Year In Review: 2020-2021
We began the 2020-2021 season like many other art houses around the world – by postponing live productions in favor of accessible virtual content. This wasn’t something the 7 Stages family thought we were ready for, but experimenting with new media in the wake of a COVID-19 pandemic presented us with new challenges that have since irreversibly changed our methods and perspective.
7 Stages was forced to step away from live productions suddenly and without much warning. We had to find a way to integrate methods like film and live streaming and learn various techniques and platforms faster than we could have expected if we wanted to continue to create. We knew it was a necessary task. Although these works were developed under devastating circumstances, being able to provide an outlet for the artists in our community who were yearning to create proved a healing way to navigate our newfound day-to-day.
With accessibility at the forefront of our internal and public conversations, our newfound virtual stage afforded us new ways to share with people from all walks; not just the cliques of Atlanta’s art scene, but a diverse international audience. From virtual conversations (with our Art of Activism forums) to writing workshops in partnership with local libraries and Georgia Center for the Book, we were able to move past geographic boundaries and connect our local community with people all over the world.
We continued to innovate as we incubated new works with our annual Home Brew Series. With an iteration titled Home Brew @ Home, we temporarily became a film production company: we released 6 full films over the course of 8 months. Utilizing Georgia’s return to work guidelines, the films ranged in scope and scale. We were proud to connect artists across generations and geography in the film Blood Flow based on Robert Earl Price’s poetry; to foster bonds across race and identity in Nicolette Emanuelle’s film What Are You?; our film TIT catapulted us to the national stage, earning a spot at the New York Indie Theatre Film Festival; True North explores how we are all connected, even in times when we feel shut off from the world. Ultimately, we are most proud of getting the chance to give artists an outlet in a time when they desperately needed it while stepping out of our comfort zones to support each other.
Accompanying each premiere, as we were able, we initiated a Service Saturday for the community at our brick and mortar, providing food, clothing, books and workshops with some invited artists. These community service days were followed by in-depth social justice conversations under our Art of Activism series. Taking place exclusively online this year, we were able to reconnect with artistic friends both nationally and internationally.
By 2021, we were finding a groove and we looked to our family of Artistic Associates to lead the way. Theresa Davis led participants to craft letters to younger versions of themselves in verse and prose with Love Letters to Your Younger Self, an online workshop presented in partnership with Georgia Center for the Book and Decatur Library. This event was followed by a presentation of longtime Artistic Associate Scott Turner Schofield’s DYSPHORIA, or, Hormones Don’t Harm People — People Do, which opened to our largest online audience yet. Poetry Pride Atlanta continued our virtual exploration with a selection of queer Atlanta artists reading fierce and heartfelt poetry to a diverse audience. All events manifested a therapeutic environment after many of us spent months at home in isolation. It was also a great opportunity to connect with other organizations and meet new artists. This is what we mean when we say “VITAL conversations!”
Charmed Ones was 7 Stages’ first in-person production of 2021, and the excitement around that alone was overwhelming. In this outdoor dance performance, conceived by Corian Ellisor, the ensemble explored queer love, family, healing and joy. Audiences and critics were thrilled to join us in the flesh, and a limited number of people were allowed to stream the event, including close family associates.
As the world was forced to stop and feel the effects of the global pandemic, the last two years also forced us to acknowledge the breadth and depth of injustice without any means of escape or distraction. We asked ourselves how we could break down the patriarchal structures that perpetuated racism, sexism, transphobia, and xenophobia. With a newly deepened commitment to collective leadership as a path to equitable futures, 7 Stages welcomed 3 new Associate Artistic Directors, Ashley James, Marium Khalid, and Elizabeth Dinkova. They hit the ground running curating a virtual Art of Activism featuring local AAPI artists and activists to combat the recent spike in xenophobia and anti-Asian harassment. Together with Artistic Director Heidi S Howard and Education Director Destiny Thompson, the team curated the Human Lights Festival: A Curious Encounter, our annual performance art festival turned on its head with a hybrid approach. Over 7 days, audiences could access live performances indoors and outdoors at 7 Stages, as well as virtual events, including a plethora of short films and vital conversations through our Art of Activism as well as curated forums. Over 100 artists from 5 countries and different corners of the United States took part.
So, what have we learned in the ”unprecedented” experiences over the last year?
Together, we have the capacity to adapt to an ever-shifting world, and will continue exploring new ways of creating no matter what. Our community is always growing, and we will be there to change and grow as a part of it.
If you would like to support 7 Stages efforts, please consider making a donation online or in person when you come to our next event! With your help, we can keep innovating and making strides to keep that growing community strong.
Love and Light,
7 Stages
