NORRISTOWN, PA.: Theatre Horizon as announced the Art Houses initiative, an artistic program developed by artistic director Nell Bang-Jensen to pair theatre artists with families and households in the greater Philadelphia region to create original performance works. The goal of the program is to help households develop and share their own family stories with their community. These original works will be presented on a monthly basis.

“Art Houses will create theatre for the era of quarantine, tell the untold stories of households struggling to survive and thrive during a worldwide pandemic, and create community when people are most in need of connection” said Bang-Jensen in a statement.  “We hope to expand the idea of ‘who is in a family’ and explore the sensation moments that can be found within the familiar every day: how do we create new rituals, celebrate, and grieve when we are separated from our broader friends and family?”

Bang-Jensen will oversee the team of Art House artists, including Brett Robinson, Johanna Kasimow, Bradley K. Wrenn, Eva Steinmetz, and Marisol Rosa-Shapiro.  Additional artists will be announced at a later date. A creative/artistic team, consisting of one director as team leader and one writer/dramaturg, will guide households as they create and perform an evening of original theatre, performed from the participant’s home and streamed to Theatre Horizon audiences. Performances may include scenes, songs, monologues, or poetry, depending on the household’s story, and households will also choose the contents of a “mystery box” that will be mailed to ticket holders ahead of the performance.

Rehearsals and performances will all happen online, with the rehearsal calendar crafted around the individual schedules within the participating household. Families can expect to commit 40 hours to the project over the course of 2 or 3 months and they will be paid $500 for their participation. Households will be selected through an interview process.