Martha McDonald: The Wood is Singing in Color

This fall, WEM’s 2023 Artist-in-Residence Martha McDonald will stage a new live performance, The Wood is Singing in Color, based on her deep research into the museum’s collections and archives. Over the past eight months, McDonald has brought her singular interdisciplinary approach, which creatively responds to collections and histories, to our site. The Wood is Singing in Color marks the first time WEM’s Artist-in-Residence program has culminated in a live performance. The piece will be staged eight times over a series of two weekends in the 1956 Workshop designed by Esherick, Louis I. Kahn, and Anne Tyng.

In this immersive performance, McDonald activates handmade costumes and set elements through movement, music, and song, reframing our understanding of Esherick, his creative legacy, and his influences in the 1920s and 1930s. McDonald draws specifically on Esherick’s prismatic furniture, Expressionistic stage sets for the Hedgerow Theatre, interest in Anthroposophy, experience with rhythmic dance, and personal writing, transforming the artist’s notes to himself into song lyrics for a newly composed musical score.

The Wood is Singing in Color will be performed on select dates this September and November. An accompanying installation exploring McDonald’s residency research and a costume made for the performance will be shown in WEM’s Visitor Center beginning September 14th.

Performance Dates & Times:

September 23 – 1:00pm and 3:00pm

September 24 – 1:00pm

November 11 – 1:00pm and 3:00pm

November 12 – 1:00pm and 3:00pm

More details and tickets available online: https://whartonesherickmuseum.org/events/list/