In 2007 I started facilitating reenactments of moments from people's lives involving strangers. These were initially inspired by my father's stranger stories and have expanded to include the lives of people at the museum and other groups.
Stranger moments at the Museum is a project for Shine a Light at the Portland Art Museum that uses the stories of employees and staff at the Portland Art Museum for reenactment theatre. Working with the people at PAM, artists Avalon Kalin and Cyrus Smith use descriptions of moments at the Museum that involve strangers to create short theatrical scenes and then peform them as re-enactments with amatuer and professional actors throughout the museum's spaces.
Museum goers followed the roving re-enactment troupe around the museum during scheduled intervals, or stumbled upon interesting interactions as they unfolded.
Amazing work and collaboration in this project by the actors Tess Yinger and Alan Hakim. Thank you to PAM staff who contributed their stories. Thank you Jillian Punska and Cassandra Adams for coordinating at PAM and being model actors. A special thank you to Barbara Masterson for playing herself.
Photographs copyright Motoya Nakumura.
