Rachel Chavkin, Eric Berryman and More to Star in The TEAM's RECONSTRUCTING

The Brooklyn-based, internationally-renowned ensemble The TEAM will present the rolling world premiere of its major new work Reconstructing with multiple engagements across the country in the first half of 2026. The show will debut at the Under the Radar Festival in New York City from January 9-11, 2026; followed by a one-night-only performance at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, presented by Carolina Performing Arts, on February 21, 2026; continuing with two performances at the newly renovated Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College in early April. Additional engagements for 2026 and 2027 are planned and will be announced at a later date.

Co-directed by Rachel Chavkin & Zhailon Levingston, Reconstructing is The TEAM’s biggest work to date, co-written by 22 artists ranging in age from 29 to 99: Brenda Abbandandolo, Denée Benton, Eric Berryman, Vinie Burrows, Rachel Chavkin, Eisa Davis, Josiah Davis, André De Shields, JJJJJerome Ellis, Katherine Freer, Jill Frutkin, Amber Gray, Jeremy O. Harris, Modesto Flako Jimenez, Ian Lassiter, Zhailon Levingston, Jake Margolin, James Harrison Monaco, Maya Sharpe, Nick Vaughan, and Jillian Walker. Original Music is composed by James Harrison Monaco, Maya Sharpe, and Jillian Walker with Eric Berryman and choreography is by nicHi douglas.

Onstage is a two-story house. From one angle, it’s mucked out after a flood. From another, it’s a new development wrapped in Tyvek. And from another, it’s “Tara” from Gone with the Wind transformed into an Airbnb. The piano can’t be tuned. Someone is quilting in the corner. Come in.

First presented as work-in-progress showings in BAM Next Wave 2024, Reconstructing wrestles with how, in the aftermath of slavery, we might move through history together. Propelled by a quilt-like score, this “complex and combustible project” (Sara Holdren, New York Magazine) slips between fact and fiction and performance and ritual to tell a story of historical figures and fictional characters seeking and fleeing intimacy—and us as makers doing the same.

The cast of Reconstructing will include Eric Berryman (Primary Trust), Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown),Modesto Flako Jimenez (Taxilandia), James Harrison Monaco (Travels), Maya Sharpe (Animal Wisdom), and Jillian Walker (SKiNFOLK).

Reconstructing will feature scenic design by Lawrence E. Moten III (Chicken and Biscuits) adapted from original scenic design by Nick Vaughan (7 Deadly Sins), costume & quilt design by Marla (Brenda Abbandandolo, Marika Kent, and Kristen Sieh), lighting design by Alan C. Edwards (Sally & Tom), sound design by Mikhail Fiksel (Dana H.), video & projection design by Katherine Freer (Bulrusher), associate direction by Josiah Davis (Mary Gets Hers) and props design by Patricia Marjorie (A Guide for the Homesick).

Reconstructing will play the following engagements in the 2025/26 season: 

Under The Radar Festival 

January 9-11, 2026

Friday January 9 at 7:30pm; Saturday January 10 at 2:30pm & 7:30pm; Sunday January 11 at 12pm & 5pm

Presented by The TEAM and The Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College for Under The Radar 2026

In the Don Buchwald Theater at the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College

For over two decades, the Under the Radar Theater Festival® has brought bold, risk-taking work to New York City, celebrating groundbreaking theater and performance from around the world and just down the street. Produced in collaboration with venues across the city, the festival showcases innovative multidisciplinary artists whose work speaks powerfully to the present moment. Under the Radar returns in January 2026 with a signature slate of more than 25 new productions staged throughout the city. Tickets and more information are available at tickets.brooklyn.edu and utrfest.org.

Carolina Performing Arts at UNC Chapel Hill

Saturday February 21, 2026, at 8PM

At Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (140 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC 27514)

Reconstructing was commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts’ Southern Futures initiative, which “invites and supports artists in exploring the South’s past, present, and future through bold, research-based, interdisciplinary performances.” Tickets and more information are available at carolinaperformingarts.org/events/the-team. 

The Hop at Dartmouth College

Thursday April 2 and Friday April 3, 2026, at 7:30PM

The Moore Theater at Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College

Reconstructing was commissioned and developed during the TEAM's 2020 residency at the Hop, a longstanding partnership rooted in bold experimentation. The Hop remains a proud supporter of this powerful work and its evolution. Tickets and more information are available at hop.dartmouth.edu/events/team.