'The Divining: Ceremonies from in the name of the m/other tree' Comes to the Apollo

The Apollo and The National Black Theatre have announced the presentation of The Divining: Ceremonies from in the name of the m/other tree, the New York City premiere of a new immersive theatrical ceremony from celebrated playwright, director, and choreographer Ebony Noelle Golden that explores the journey of climate reparations through multi-disciplinary performances in the streets of Harlem and in Apollo Stages at The Victoria. 

The Divining: Ceremonies from in the name of the m/other tree, conceived and curated by Ebony Noelle Golden and featuring Jupiter Performance Studio, is a powerful 3-part series of ritual performances, processions, and visual installations that invites audiences to experience the intersection of art, activism, and spirituality. 

“I have been profoundly quickened by the creation of this offering.  I am immensely grateful for my East Texas and rural Louisiana ways of living and loving. Our connection to the divine, our food, our conjure, our soil song, our dance are my inheritance. May my elders, teachers and ancestors be pleased and may all who witness The Divining: Ceremonies from in the name of the m/other tree be lifted up,” said creator Ebony Noelle Golden.

For each performance, audience members will engage with and immerse themselves within the environment, walking alongside the players and actively participating in the story. For the New York premiere, The Divining: Ceremonies from in the name of the m/other tree will take place outdoors throughout Harlem, and on The Apollo's Stages at the Victoria. 

Due to the importance of centering the community and giving access to all, performances will be free and open to the public. 

RSVPs are now open at apollotheater.org/event/the-divining.

“We are honored to have this deeply prescient production as part of our Apollo New Works program, and to work with our partner, the National Black Theatre, to provide an incubation space for Ebony and her genre-defying, boundary-pushing work,” said Apollo Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes. “This is what The Apollo is about—providing space for artists to challenge themselves and expand their practice. By allowing them to take risks they wouldn't otherwise be able to take, we are fostering and cultivating new lines of inquiry, pulling a new narrative thread from the diasporic tangle of the Black experience.” 

Inspired by M Archive: After the End of the World and Dub: Finding Ceremony, two installations of poet, artist, and scholar Alexis Pauline Gumbs' experimental tryptic, the theatrical ceremony utilizes movement, poetry, percussion, and visual art to encourage audience members to understand that their connection to the natural world is critical to their liberation. Set in the 1970s in a rural coastal town, The Divining: Ceremonies from in the name of the m/other tree, posits Black communities as sanctuaries—spiritual, ecological, metaphysical—and follows two sisters as they embark on an epic journey across time and space to seek environmental justice. 

“It's powerful to begin our pilgrimage this season with Ebony's progressive, spiritual work that centers on one of the most pressing issues of our time—our relationship with the planet. As climate change intensifies, it's our duty to reconnect with our responsibility to address the preverbal threat that we've generated to our very existence. This is why NBT and The Apollo have made every show 100% FREE for the community. We need everyone involved to be moved toward action. Join us, and let's heal our Earth together.”said National Black Theatre Executive Artistic Director Jonthan McCrory.

The Divining: Ceremonies from in the name of the m/other tree is part of The Apollo's Fall/Winter 2024 season. 

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