The Neighbors Announce Inaugural Cohort Of The New To The Neighborhood Residency

What Will the Neighbors Say? has announced the inaugural cohort of their "New to the Neighborhood" New Works Residency Program.

Specifically serving female-identifying, trans and non-binary artists of the global majority working and living in Brooklyn, this program launches this year with Taji Senior (she/her) and Claire Soleil Gardner (they/she). For more information on these residents, the Neighbors and further programming, please visit their website at www.wwtns.org.

Taji Senior is a writer, actor and artist at large. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany, raised in Amarillo and Philadelphia, and currently resides in Brooklyn. Senior will be developing her piece, "Contestant 8," during her residency period. In 1991, Desiree Washington, a young beauty pageant contestant, dreams of one day becoming the first Black and first woman president. Then, she accuses Mike Tyson of sexually assaulting her. After one televised interview with Barbara Walters, she disappears from public life never to be heard from again. Until now.

Claire Soleil Gardner is a multi-disciplinary playwright, director, dramaturg and performer, based in Boston and New York. Gardner is a proud Indigenous (Metis-Plains Cree) queer individual whose passion for history, education and social justice are central to their work. They are developing "Out of Earth," a play retelling the looting of an ancient gravesite at Slack Farm in Kentucky in 1987-88. The play follows the Native activists and the archaeologists trying to recover the desecrated graves as they work together they confront prejudice and Native American history.

The Neighbors launched this program with an award from the Brooklyn Art Council's 2024 Creative Equations Fund: Justice, Equity, Sustainability + Performing Arts, with funds from the Howard Gilman Foundation, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council. Further program support was provided by IndieSpace. The residencies will take place at Chez Bushwick from December 9th-14th, with final sharings on Sunday December 15th at MITU580, with pay-what-you-can tickets available soon.

The selection panel included Co-Artistic Directors James Clements and Sam Hood Adrain, as well the Neighbors' Board of Directors (Thalia Romina, Coral Cohen, Shani Matoaka Bekt, Jacqueline Scaletta and Devante Lawrence) and frequent collaborators Federica Borlenghi, Sylver Wallace, Beatriz Miranda, Melannie Vásquez Lara and Isuri Wijesundara. Of the program, Councilperson CM Hudson stated "[It] is a transformative initiative poised to make a significant impact on our vibrant city and its emerging artists...[it]embodies the spirit of creativity, diversity and innovation that defines our city." Senator Julia Salazar added "I look forward to witnessing the transformative impact of this company's work on our city and am eager to collaborate in any way possible to see it flourish."

What Will the Neighbors Say? is an investigative theatre company that provokes questions through untold stories. Led by a collaborative cohort of International Artists, the Neighbors present overlooked social, cultural and historical narratives that challenge the audience to reflect on the current moment. Through a combination of original plays, arts education workshops and dynamic community gatherings, the troupe incites rowdy and rigorous debate at the theatre and throughout the Neighborhood.

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