08/06/2021
A note from Nicki and Kendall:
In 2011 we began an experiment. With few resources but a few big ideas, we put together a short aerial theatre piece based on Sylvia Plath’s poem “Mad Girl’s Love Song.” We had no idea at the time that the piece would spark a decade-long, collaborative journey into the world of aerial theatre.
Only Child became a lab where we have had the pleasure of working with beloved artists to collage original stories with aerial movement and evocative soundscapes. ASYLUM grew over 5 years from a 13-minute piece that bounced around the aerial pockets of Brooklyn to a full-length show at the 850-seat NYU Skirball Center. We explored site-specific work with Framework and TwoFold, held a 1920s speakeasy fundraiser UPROAR, collaborated with Theater Development Fund on a video to define “aerial theatre” for their Theater Dictionary, and developed Story Hour as 2016-2017 New Victory Theater LabWorks artists. We met extraordinary artists and collaborated with companies we have always admired.
It was most often joyous, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes bank-breaking, and always, always worth it. Throughout, our work has been buoyed by the phenomenal support we have received from audience members, donors, and friends. It has been a magical and formative decade for both of us, and we are forever grateful to you for going on the journey with us.
While our friendship has remained strong throughout, in the past few years our personal lives have changed significantly and our artistic goals have shifted. We have made the bittersweet decision to close the Only Child Aerial Theatre chapter.
We will still be creating!
Our work will arrive in new forms, with some different collaborators, under different names- and we are confident that our creative paths will cross again!
Out of respect for your data and privacy, we have added opt-in links below if you would like to continue to follow our respective journeys.
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Thank you so much for supporting and sustaining us over the last decade.