A Thousand Ways is a triptych of encounters between strangers. Guided by a score of instructions, questions, prompts, and physical directives, people who have never met build a series of performances for one another. Each installment of A Thousand Ways explores the line between strangeness and kinship, distance and proximity, and how the most intimate assembly can become profoundly radical.
Part One: A Phone Call
On a simple phone call, you and another audience member – nameless strangers to one another – follow a carefully crafted set of directives. Over the course of the journey, a portrait of each other emerges through fleeting moments of exposure and the simple sound of an unseen voice.
Part Two: An Encounter
Nested at the center of an empty space is a small table bisected by glass. You sit at the table, opposite a stranger, with a stack of index cards, a handful of objects, and a set of instructions to guide you. What will come from this? It is a chance at being heard, a brave moment to show up.
Part Three: An Assembly
An intimate reckoning of how small we are in the face of awesome natural forces, and of our mutual dependence, AN ASSEMBLY tasks an audience of 16 strangers to reconstruct an evocative story of perseverance and ruin. This unique theatrical event tests the ways we arrange ourselves after so much time apart.
| Aug 28–30, 2024 | Part Three | Teatri Oda | Pristina, Kosovo | tickets |
More dates to be announced.
*Part One can be attended from anywhere via phone. Parts Two and Three are in-person.
Parts One & Two: Written & Created by: Abigail Browde & Michael Silverstone
Part Three: Written & Created by: Abigail Browde & Michael Silverstone, with Andrew Kircher
Executive Producer: ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann
Dramaturg & Project Design: Andrew Kircher
Line Producers: Cynthia J. Tong & Sami Pyne
Translations:
Part One (German): Matthias Seier & Anne-Kathrin Schulz
Part One (French): Anna Johannsen & engineered by Amelia Parenteau
Part One (Dutch): Merel Eigenhaus
Part One (Hebrew): Maya Buenos
Part Two (French): Anna Johannsen
Part Two (German): Anna Johannsen
Part Two (Latvian): Gundega Laivina
Part Two (Dutch): Carol van Gelder
Part Two (Cantonese): Tai Yin Chan
Part Two (Hebrew): Maya Buenos
Part Three (Hebrew): Maya Buenos
Part Three (Italian): Elisa Pistis
This production was commissioned by The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, Stanford Live at Stanford University, The Public Theater, and Festival Theaterformen, and was originally commissioned and co-conceived by Temple Contemporary at Temple University, USA. Part One: A Phone Call was developed in partnership with On the Boards production and technical teams. The German language premiere of Part One: A Phone Call was developed, translated and premiered in partnership with Volkstheater, Austria. Part Three: An Assembly was developed through a residency partnership with the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and with A.P.E Arts in Northampton, MA. Certain engagements supported by Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. Original support for the production was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia.
Additional Credits:
Part One Sound Design: Stanley Mathabane
Photos: Maria Baranova
Illustrations: Cass Sachs-Michaels
Early development of the project with composer Jerome Ellis and designer Eric Southern.
“The term “experimental” tends to signal an ambition to flaunt difficulty and occlude meaning, but 600 Highwaymen’s experiments with theatrical form are distinctly generous. That is the case with A Thousand Ways, which takes a simple premise and turns it into magic … What we were doing was dancing, using only our voices, learning each other’s rhythms as the steps were called, the random and the banal grapevining with the profound.”
– The New Yorker
“Splendid. Funny and sweet and unexpectedly moving.”
– The New York Times
“The single most remarkable work of 2022”
-Culturebot
“An expressive gesture of hope. ⭑⭑⭑⭑”
– The Irish Times
“The piece passes many crucial tests: It’s something you’d want to do even when not in the midst of a pandemic. It sates a desire neglected during this time, which is to meet new people. Most importantly, it represents truly adventurous, assumption-busting thinking about what theater is and what it can be.”
– SF Chronicle
“For an hour, I forgot the world around me as I pieced together a blurry picture of a stranger from the clues in her voice and the breadcrumbs of her backstory. Sitting in the dark, I came as close to a theater experience as I’ve had in a long time.”
– Crosscut
⭑⭑⭑⭑ “A genuinely moving experience and a timely reminder of the way intimacy is restricted and enhanced when in-person communication is impossible.”
– The Stage
| July 2–12, 2020 | Part Two | Festival Theaterformen | Braunschweig, GE | - |
| Sept 9–27, 2020 | Part One | On the Boards | Seattle, WA | - |
| Sept 24–27, 2020 | Part One | Dublin Theatre Festival | Dublin, IRE | - |
| Oct 2–4, 2020 | Part One | Williams College | Williamstown, MA | - |
| Oct 7–18, 2020 | Part One | The Arts Centre | Abu Dhabi, UAE | - |
| Nov 4–29, 2020 | Part One | Canadian Stage | Toronto, CAN | - |
| Nov 5–22, 2020 | Part Two | On the Boards | Seattle, WA | - |
| Nov 5–22, 2020 | Part One | Singapore Int'l Festival of Arts | Singapore | - |
| Nov 13–15, 2020 | Part One | Arizona Arts Live | Tucson, AZ | - |
| Dec 3–6, 2020 | Part One | Stanford Live | Stanford, CA | - |
| Dec 6 & 13, 2020 | Part One | CAP UCLA | Los Angeles, CA | - |
| Dec 11–13, 2020 | Part One | Boom Arts | Portland, OR | - |
| Dec 21–Jan 17, 2021 | Part One | The Public Theater | NYC, NY | - |
| Jan 13–17, 2021 | Part One | Stanford Live | Stanford, CA | - |
| Jan 21–24, 2021 | Part One | Boom Arts | Portland, OR | - |
| Jan 21–Mar 7, 2021 | Part One | La Jolla Playhouse | La Jolla, CA | - |
| Jan 24, 2021 | Part One | CAP UCLA | Los Angeles, CA | - |
| Feb 4–14, 2021 | Part One | On the Boards | Seattle, WA | - |
| Feb 27–28, 2021 | Part One | Arizona Arts Live | Tucson, AZ | - |
| March 1–14, 2021 | Part One | Carolina Performing Arts | Chapel Hill, NC | - |
| March 2–14, 2021 | Part One | Walker Art Center | Minneapolis, MN | - |
| Mar 3–Apr 3, 2021 | Part One | The Momentary | Bentonville, AR | - |
| Mar 30–Apr 29, 2021 | Part One (German) | Volkstheater Wien | Vienna, Austria | - |
| March 4–14, 2021 | Part Two | On the Boards | Seattle, WA | - |
| Apr 15–May 2, 2021 | Part Two | Singapore Int'l Festival of Arts | Singapore | - |
| Apr 22–May 2, 2021 | Part Two | Walker Art Center | Minneapolis, MN | - |
| May 2–16, 2021 | Part Two | CAP UCLA | Los Angeles, CA | - |
| May 7–16, 2021 | Part One (German) | Figuren Theater Festival | Erlangen, Germany | - |
| May 12–29, 2021 | Part One (French) | Théâtre Garonne | Toulouse, France | - |
| May 14–23, 2021 | Part Two | Boom Arts | Portland, OR | - |
| May 17–22, 2021 | Part One | Norfolk & Norwich Festival / In Between Time | UK | - |
| May 20–July 18, 2021 | Part One | The Public Theater | New York, NY | - |
| May 20–24, 2021 | Part One (Dutch) | SPRING / Noorderzon | The Netherlands | - |
| May 28–29, 2021 | Part One | Take Me Somewhere | Glasgow, Scotland | - |
| June 2–27, 2021 | Part Two | The Momentary | Bentonville, AR | - |
| June 3–7, 2021 | Part One | Spoleto Festival | Charleston, SC | - |
| June 3–20, 2021 | Part Two | La Jolla Playhouse | La Jolla, CA | - |
| June 8–Aug 15, 2021 | Part Two | The Public Theater | New York, NY | - |
| July 7–18, 2021 | Part Two | Stanford Live | Stanford, CA | - |
| July 13–18, 2021 | Part One | A2SF / UMMA | Ann Arbor, MI | - |
| Aug 13–22, 2021 | Part Two (Dutch & Engl) | Noorderzon | Groningen, NL | - |
| Aug 20–28, 2021 | Part One | Freedom Festival | Hull, UK | - |
| Aug 20–22, 2021 | Part One | ENT Center for the Arts at UCCS | Colorado Springs | - |
| Aug 27–29, 2021 | Part Two | ENT Center for the Arts at UCCS | Colorado Springs | - |
| Sept 8–18, 2021 | Part One | ANTI Festival | Kuopio, FIN | - |
| Sept 8–18, 2021 | Part One | Homo Novus Festival | Riga, LV | - |
| Sept 8–18, 2021 | Part Two (Latvian) | Homo Novus Festival | Riga, LV | - |
| Sept 14–19, 2021 | Part Two | ANTI Festival | Kuopio, FIN | - |
| Sept 16–18, 2021 | Part Two | Williams College | Williams, MA | - |
| Sept 16–19, 2021 | Part Two (German) | Figuren Theater Festival | Erlangen, GE | - |
| Oct 1–17, 2021 | Part Two | Carolina Performing Arts | Chapel Hill, NC | - |
| Nov 5–9, 2021 | Part Two | Denver Film Festival | Denver, CO | - |
| Nov 9–14, 2021 | Part One | A2SF / UMMA | Ann Arbor, MI | - |
| Nov 16–20, 2021 | Part Three (in development) | Boom Arts | Portland, OR | - |
| Dec 2–4, 2021 | Part Three (in development) | Williams College | Williams, MA | - |
| Dec 2–5, 2021 | Part Two | Lókal International Theatre Festival | Reykjavik, Iceland | - |
| Dec 9–12, 2021 | Part Three | ICA / Boston | Boston, MA | - |
| Mar 3–12, 2022 | Part Three | On the Boards | Seattle, WA | - |
| Mar 8–Apr 24, 2022 | Part Two | A2SF / UMMA | Ann Arbor, MI | - |
| Mar 12–13, 2022 | Part Three | Stanford Live | Stanford, CA | - |
| Apr 23–24, 2022 | Part Three | La Jolla Playhouse | La Jolla, CA | - |
| May 19–June 11, 2022 | Part Two | Théâtre Garonne | Toulouse, France | - |
| June 3–5, 2022 | Part Three | Carolina Performing Arts | Chapel Hill, NC | - |
| July 23–31, 2022 | Part Two (Cantonese) | Hong Kong Live Arts | Hong Kong | - |
| Sept 15–22, 2022 | Parts One, Two & Three (Hebrew) | Israel Festival | Jerusalem, Israel | - |
| Oct 1–23, 2022 | Part Three | CAP UCLA | Los Angeles, CA | - |
| Oct 5–6, 2022 | Part Three (Italian) | Base Milano / Far Out Festival | Milano, Italy | - |
| Oct 13–22, 2022 | Part Three (Italian) | Sardegna Teatro | Sardenga, Italy | - |
| Nov 18–20, 2022 | Part Three | A.P.E. | North Hampton, MA | - |
| Dec 17, 2022 | Part Three | A.P.E. | North Hampton, MA | - |
| Jan 4–22, 2023 | Part Three | The Public Theater / NYPL | New York, NY | - |
| Feb 4–12, 2023 | Part Three | CAP UCLA | Los Angeles, CA | - |
| Mar 15, 2023 | Part Three (Italian) | Museo Archeologico Nazionale Nuoro | Nuoro, Italy | - |
| Mar 16, 2023 | Part Three (Italian) | MAN Museo d'Arte della provincia di Nuoro | Nuoro, Italy | - |
| Mar 17, 2023 | Part Three (Italian) | Museo Nivola | Orani, Italy | - |
| Mar 18, 2023 | Part Three (Italian) | Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee | Mamoiada, Italy | - |
| Mar 19, 2023 | Part Three (Italian) | Spazio Ilisso | Nuoro, Italy | - |
| Sept 16, 2023 | Part Three (French) | Atelier 231 | Sotteville-lès-Rouen, FR | - |
| Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2023 | Part Three | Center for Performing Arts at Penn State | University Park, PA | - |
| Oct 20, 2023 | Part Three | Center for Performing Arts at Penn State | University Park, PA | - |
| Nov 3–4, 2023 | Part Three (French) | Lieux Publics | Marseille, France | - |
| Nov 8–10, 2023 | Part Three | Center for Performing Arts at Penn State | University Park, PA | - |
| April 4–5,2024 | Part Three (Italian) | Auditorium Comunale di Lestizza | Lestizza, Italy | - |
| April 7, 2024 | Part Three (Italian) | Teatro Italia | Pontebba, Italy | - |
| April 8–10, 2024 | Part Three (Italian) | Former Church of San Gregorio | Sacile, Italy | - |
| April 18, 2024 | Part Three | In Situ Open Day | Pelt, Belgium | - |
| May 19, 2024 | Part Three (Italian) | Polimorfa Performing Arts Festival | Valchiusella, Italy | tickets |
| May 16–19, 2024 | Part Three | Metropolis | Copenhagen, Denmark | tickets |
| May 29–June 10, 2024 | Part Two | Vivid Sydney | Sydney, Australia | tickets |
| Aug 28–30, 2024 | Part Three | Teatri Oda | Pristina, Kosovo | tickets |
| – additional dates to come – | ||||