A Performance in 21 Readings

‘A Performance in 21 Readings’ is a series of online performances by Emily Gastineau (Alum ’20) and Samantha Johns where the artists invite one performer and one audience member to join them for each reading.

“Remember standing close to strangers? The heat? Your mouth begins to water. We’re not talking about satisfaction here–that may come after. We’re talking about the bell. We’re talking about your empty hand, your eyes that are searching for something, a catch in your throat, that sharp feeling. It’s the wind slapping your face. It’s the thing that wakes you.”

How to attend a reading:

The artists invite 1 performer and 1 audience member to join them at each Reading.
The artists will generate a Reading that is only for you.
You choose whether you want to be the performer or the audience.
If you are the performer, you choose your audience member. If you are the audience, you choose your performer.

Do you want to be the performer?

The performer will answer questions from the artists and share lush and tender moments of their life. The performer will divulge.

Do you want to be the audience?

The audience will listen, observe, and interpret. The audience will indulge.

How do you know who should be your other?

There should be some charge between you, but maybe not in an obvious way. Maybe you’ve never told them before, or maybe you tell them all the time, but you want their eyes on you when the sun hits your face just right. You want to tell them. You want to listen to them tell.

Choose a performance date and time that works for both the audience and the performer. Register for a reading together.

1 Reading = 2 tickets. Pay as you wish, $5-20 per person.
Instructions will follow. Everything will remain confidential.
Each reading takes place online, and is designed to be experienced on a computer with a webcam and internet access (not on a phone.)

Register for a reading here.

Performance Dates*

  • Friday, March 12, 7 pm CST | Reading #9: Movie Theater in Manhattan
  • Saturday, March 13, 5 pm CST | Reading #10: Your Bed
  • Saturday, March 13, 6 pm CST | Reading #11: Blue Toyota Corolla
  • Saturday, March 13, 7 pm CST | Reading #12: Flying Over Greenland
  • Sunday, March 14, 5 pm CDT | Reading #13: Booth at Matt’s Bar
  • Sunday, March 14, 6 pm CDT | Reading #14: The Harbor
  • Sunday, March 14, 7 pm CDT | Reading #15: The Staircase

 

  • Friday, March 26, 7 pm CDT | Reading #16: Street Market in Istanbul
  • Saturday, March 27, 5 pm CDT | Reading #17: Amsterdam Centraal Station
  • Saturday, March 27, 6 pm CDT | Reading #18: Kitchen Table
  • Saturday, March 27, 7 pm CDT | Reading #19: Boston
  • Sunday, March 28, 5 pm CDT | Reading #20: Wooden Bridge Between Two Subdivisions in Virginia
  • Sunday, March 28, 6 pm CDT | Reading #21: After the Parade
  • Sunday, March 28, 7 pm CDT | Reading #22: Cafe Near the Tower

 

  • Friday, April 9, 7 pm CDT | Reading #23: St. Paul Sidewalk in the Snow
  • Saturday, April 10, 5 pm CDT | Reading #24: Morning
  • Saturday, April 10, 6 pm CDT | Reading #25: The Reservoir
  • Saturday, April 10, 7 pm CDT | Reading #26: Concrete Floor in Vienna
  • Sunday, April 11, 5 pm CDT | Reading #27: Hotel Bathroom
  • Sunday, April 11, 6 pm CDT | Reading #28: 26th St. & Stevens Ave.
  • Sunday, April 11, 7 pm CDT | Reading #29: Train Window

*To request a Reading in a time zone outside of the Americas, please contact: emily.gastineau@gmail.com and john6385@gmail.com.

To request live captioning, ASL interpretation, audio description, or other accessibility-related accommodations, please contact us at least two weeks prior to the date you want to attend. staff@redeyetheater.com | 612.870.7531

For full information visit the Red Eye Theatre’s performance page.

 

About Emily Gastineau

Emily Gastineau is a choreographer, performer, writer, and arts administrator, based in Minneapolis and working internationally. Her work has been presented at Frascati (Amsterdam), On the Boards (Seattle), Garage29 (Brussels), Walker Art Center, Southern Theater, Soap Factory, Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater, and Red Eye Theater (Minneapolis), among others.

Her work with Billy Mullaney (US/NL) as part of the performance duo Fire Drill has been shown in Amsterdam, Minneapolis, St. Paul, New York, San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Chicago, and was commissioned by the Cowles Center, Walker Art Center, and Southern Theater as part of Momentum: New Dance Works. As part of an emerging artist-driven touring network for contemporary performance, Fire Drill has curated evenings of work at their studio space Fresh Oysters Performance Research and other venues, featuring artists from around the United States.

Emily co-founded the performance writing platform Criticism Exchange (2014-2016), and her writing on performance has also been published on Mn Artists, Temporary Art Review, Culturebot, and the Walker Art Center. Thanks to a 2017 Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and with Red Eye Theater, she produced RELAY RELAY, an interview marathon and publication on contemporary performance. She is the recipient of a 2016 Next Step Grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.

Emily is one of seven artistic directors of Red Eye Theater. As Program Manager of Mn Artists, she works with local artists to produce programs and publications at the Walker Art Center. From 2017-2019, she was based between Minneapolis and Amsterdam while completing a master’s at DAS Choreography, Amsterdam University of the Arts.