Tickets to Saturday, October 22 – SOLD OUT
Audience members do not need to attend both evenings to experience the piece, the performances on Friday and Saturday will be the same.

Created by the visionary arts collective TRIBE—led by artistic director and choreographer Shamel Pitts—Touch of RED will have its world premiere at MASS MoCA this fall. Reimaging the boxing ring from a space of duels to one of duets, Touch of RED challenges how we think about male vulnerability, utilizing projection, animation, and lighting to create an immersive world for its central duo as they turn a space of aggression into one of softness.

Touch of Red is part of Shamel Pitts’ “RED Series” which continues his research to propose and share the colorfulness within Blackness, creating a body of work that supports, shelters, and cultivates an Afro-futuristic performance art landscape in which the multitude of Black diversity and capacity is realized, allowed, nurtured, and shared.

Following the Saturday evening performance, join us for an Artist Talk Back with Shamel Pitts and Jacob’s Pillow’s Melanie George, Associate Curator and Director of Artistic Initiatives.

“Touch of RED…was inspired by Pitts’ fascination with the quickness of footwork in boxing and camaraderie within combat.” — Wada Udobong, The Observer

Take a look inside the creative process when Shamel Pitts | TRIBE were in residence at Jacob’s Pillow back in 2020:

Make a Plan

• Preferred ticket holders get the best seat in the house and museum admission on the day of or after the event.
• This performance will take place inside MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center. Masks are required during the performance, except while eating and drinking.
• Please note, that museum admission is not included with your event ticket unless indicated. Purchase museum admission here.
• All events at MASS MoCA are accessible to all audiences. Please contact accessibility@massmoca.org if you would like to inquire about accessibility needs and services.
• By purchasing a ticket to join MASS MoCA’s visitors, staff, and artists on the museum campus, you agree to follow a Courtesy Code, detailed here. Our full COVID FAQ is here.
• All sales are final; no refunds or exchanges.

Planning on dinner before the show? Check out restaurants in downtown North Adams or find a nosh right here on campus: Bright Ideas Brewing, Door Prize, or Lickety Split Cafe. Lickety Split Cafe, our museum cafe, will also serve small bites during the show. A full bar serves Bright Idea Brewing beers and Berkshire Mountain Distillery spirits.

Concept Director & Choreographer: Shamel Pitts, Performers: Tushrik Fredericks & Shamel Pitts, Video Mapping & Lighting Designer: Lucca Del Carlo, Artistic Production Manager & Lighting Designer: Rus Snelling, Set Designer: Mimi Lien, Costume Designer: Dion Lee, Costume Stylists: TT Britt & Tushrik Fredericks, Original Musical Score: Sivan Jacobovitz, Additional Music: Ben Frost – A Single Point of Blinding Light, Shamel’s Solo Round entitled “gloves off!”, Burial- Forgive, Final Round entitled “Borderline Blood Burial”-, Dramaturge: Ashley Pierre-Louis, Stage Tour Manager: Kaz Russell, Lindy Hop Instructor: LaTasha Barnes, Cinematographer: Taylor Antisdel, Creative Director: Mirelle Martins, Social Media Manager: Pam Panozzo, Bookings: Lotus Arts Management, Sophie Myrtil-McCourty, sophie@lotusartsmgmt.com

Touch of RED is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow, YoungArts, Miami Light Project INC, UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, New York Live Arts INC, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, Office of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). The piece has also been supported by the Consulate General of Israel in New York, Trust for Mutual Understanding, GIBNEY, and The Harkness Foundation for Dance. Bubble residency guidance provided by Duke Dang and medical consultant Dr. Wendy Ziecheck. For more information: www.npnweb.org

Additional commissioning, development and core operating support of TRIBE is provided by the Mellon Foundation; the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance/NYC’s Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation and Ford Foundation; The Harkness Center for Dance; National Performance Network (NPN) Creation, Development & Artist Engagement Fund Project. The Creation, Development & Artist Engagement Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency); New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Photo by Alex Apt