A university needs more than just teachers, students, and educational tools. A university needs many people who behind the scenes ensure that classrooms, labs, houses, offices, fields, and so many other places at Wesleyan are the kinds of spaces in which we can learn, discuss, inquire. This week we will celebrate some of those people in an outdoor performance piece. WesWorks features students and folks from Custodial Services and Physical Plant who help make our campus a beautiful and hospitable environment for learning. Allison Orr’s Forklift Danceworks has been collaborating with workers and students to build relationships and will perform this week at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, starting on Andrus Field. “I think this [show] opens up a world of understanding for students of the incredible support network that is on a university campus,” said the CFA’s Rani Arbo in a recent article.
Building on seven years of Forklift Danceworks’ engagement with Wesleyan, WesWorks was developed through a series of residencies and intensive course collaborations over the past year and a half. The multi-site outdoor performance invites the audience to witness the virtuosic and skilled work of Facilities staff as performed by the workers themselves, and to celebrate their indispensable place at Wesleyan.
You can read more about the performance and the work leading up to it here. You can also reserve a spot!
I remind my colleagues whenever I get the chance that whatever our job titles at Wesleyan, we are all educators. I look forward to admiring the work and learning from fellow staff members this week!
