ABSTRACT
Numerous new social rituals have appeared during the global pandemic over the past two years, and while the few shows that have been staged during this time have been forced to utilize or adapt to these rituals (among other things: masks, six-foot distances between audience groups, Plexiglas barriers, temperature checks, ubiquitous hand sanitizer), only recently have we begun to see live productions created specifically to engage with the unprecedented era of COVID. The sequence includes video of animals and natural landscapes, her dog, Reed, images barely glimpsed through raindrop-covered windows, security in airports, and more, some of it looped, moving at odd speeds, or backwards. The next two stations featured Tai Chi artists Master Ren Guangyi (Reed's longtime Tai Chi teacher) and Haobu Zhao practicing Chen-style tai chi in pools of light underneath constantly falling flower petals;one wore red, the other white. There was something exhilarating about being at this relatively small event in such a massive space, able to see and hear everything: the Drill Hall became a cathedral of sorts, and we became celebrants at a special ritual available only to five small groups of people, which would take place only during this one week.