Ryan McNamara: Battleground

“Seventy years ago, Frank Lloyd Wright sketched a room to be built under the Guggenheim. People seem to think it’s a theater. In actuality, it’s a set Wright prophetically designed for the sci-fi cosplay house-music ballet-battle that fell into my mind the moment I saw the space. This May, the Peter B. Lewis Theater will finally realize its destiny in my piece Battleground.”
–Ryan McNamara

On May 2, 3, and 4, Works & Process at the Guggenheim presents the premiere of Battleground, a commissioned work by artist Ryan McNamara in collaboration with a community of nine dancers: Reid Bartelme, Jason Collins, Dylan Crossman, Fana Fraser, John Hoobyar, Kyli Kleven, Sigrid Lauren, Mickey Mahar, and Brandon Washington. Utilizing a rare residency opportunity that has spanned five months in the Guggenheim’s Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Peter B. Lewis Theater, McNamara has created a one-of-a-kind cosplay-battle-ballet made for the unique architecture of the theater. Audience members act as embedded witnesses to the three squads’ battle for dominance in each of the space’s three zones—”The Red Choir Loft,” “The Green Balcony,” and “The Blue Stage.” Interspersed in the performance will be a discussion with McNamara moderated by Nancy Spector, former Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. A reception with the artists immediately follows the performance