Every August Torn Space Theater enacts an early harvest ritual on the grounds of Silo City, a vast campus of grain elevators stretching along the Buffalo River. This ceremony is a metaphorical reaping of what has happened globally, locally and familially. This event creates a space to process the year’s yield as well as cultivate our mental soil and sow the seeds of aspiration in preparation of the coming months.

2020 has shown us in vivid detail a world that is out of balance. Wildfires, a global pandemic and Black Lives Matter have coalesced, providing a stark portrait of a society in need of change. We are at a historic crossroad and live performance provides an opportunity to contextualize our unprecedented times.

In our forced isolation we have only been reconfirmed of our need for community, the need to share experiences together, the need for live performance. We invite you to join us in the regenerative meadow at Silo City; a site once empty of life and now teeming with wildflowers trees, grasses and a diverse population of wildlife. A space that demonstrates the power of nature to transform, adapt and emerge stronger and more beautiful.

Torn Space Theater’s production of Silence is implementing the guidelines of social distancing and PPE use. This new outdoor performance runs July 31-August 2, August 7-9 and 13-16, 2020 at Silo City, 85 Silo City Row, Buffalo, NY 14203. For more information about our safety measures, please see this outline of our COVID-19 safety measures, based on the guidelines required by Federal and the New York State authorities.

Torn Space has become a leader in site-based performance and since 2012 the work has been centered around a specific place (Silo City) and mythology. In Silence, contactless pre-registration and auditory guidance within the performance will make for a solitary yet communal experience among a small audience with specially-designed masks that draw viewers into the ritual. Seated outside and six feet apart, audience members will enjoy the continually evolving pastoral meadow of Silo City transformed into a transcendental performance venue by Torn Space.

Artistic Director Dan Shanahan and Associate Director Melissa Meola revisit figures in the Torn Space mythology in this latest Silo City experience amidst a new state of social gathering.

“Close the door of words that the window of your heart may open. To see what cannot be seen turn your eyes inward and listen, in silence.”

– Rumi

This performance is part of Torn Space’s RESPONSE: Performance Series, which returns for its fifth year with the introduction of a fresh programming series entitled “NEIGHBORHOOD.” Works developed within this series will bring audiences to performance spaces in the Broadway/Fillmore area and beyond, featuring artists collaborating to explore new forms of contemporary performance and creative placemaking

This series is made possible through lead funding from the Cullen Foundation, the Regional Economic Development Council, the Creative Arts Initiative of the University at Buffalo, the New York State Council on the Arts, Erie County and M&T Bank.

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From the Press:

“It’s become a rite of summer along the Buffalo Riverfront.”

– Jay Moran, WBFO, NPR

“There might be nothing more exciting happening in Buffalo performance than Torn Space’s work at Silo City.”

– The Buffalo Spree

“Congratulations to Torn Space Theater and its innovative Response Festival for rooting itself in an understanding of the local while at the same time looking beyond its borders to carry contemporary performance ideas to the people of Buffalo.”

– Bonnie Marranca – PAJ: A Journal of Art and Performance

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Torn Space and its programs are complying with current COVID-19 safety guidelines, required by the Federal and the New York State authorities. We will ask our visitors to exercise social distancing practice, wear masks when within 6 feet of others, and follow Torn Space attendance guidance during the performance.