East 26th Street (between 5th and Madison, just north of Madison Square Park; subway R/W to 23rd St. and 6 to 28th St.
Space is extremely limited and reservations are highly recommended. Tickets (suggested donation $25) can be purchased by emailing info@blessedunrest.org with the patron’s name, desired show date and time, and the number of tickets requested.
The award-winning performance ensemble Blessed Unrest presents a new, live, movement-based performance TOUCH, a post-pandemic meditation on skin hunger and a longing to connect. Inspired by our growing understanding of the function of mirror neurons and driven by the need to provide a refuge from the isolation and fear of the past year, the piece invites its audience to partake in the warmth of creative intimacy, with the safety of distance. Presented as part of the NYC Open Culture program of outdoor performances, TOUCH weaves together text, music, and movement, and strives to awaken the audience’s senses as they follow the performers through fractured journeys of forbidden touch set against the beautiful canopy of Madison Square Park.
TOUCH was created based on essays written by the cast members and is performed by Michael Gene Jacobs, Tatyana Kot, Ariel Polanco, and Anna Wulfekuhle, with final text adapted and edited by Keith Hamilton Cobb and Teddy Jefferson. The piece is directed by Jessica Burr and features composition, arrangement, and sound design by Adrian Bridges and costume design by Sohn Plenefisch.