Connections at Team Theatre

Theatremakers Dorothea Gloria (she/her) and Handan Ozgilbin (she/her) will present their show, Connections, on December 9th at 7pm and December 10th at 3pm at the La Guardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City.

Tickets are $10 for the performances and can be reserved here. The show, Connections, is an answer to their previous show called “Shelter in Love.”

“We created the show, Connections, as a space for healing, ritual, and connection. After our last show, Shelter in Love, which talked about racism and injustice; very heavy topics, we wanted this show to be a chance to reflect and heal from the trauma of the pandemic” Gloria shares.

Connections is a devised and immersive multi-disciplinary theatre piece that explores isolation, survival, connection, and intimacy of people during the pandemic. This show is co-created by Dorothea Gloria and Handan Ozgilbin, and performed by Dorothea Gloria and Carmen Whiip.

Set in a ritual space in a quiet moment of calm and reflection, the piece, built from different memories, objects, vlogs, videos, and songs, unearths feelings and emotions that people may have buried or pushed aside in order to get back to a sense of normalcy. The show combines movement, music, poetry, video, text, objects, and a participation aspect that brings this performance ritual to life.

The conversation for this piece was first conceived in 2020 when Gloria and Ozbilgin met every week to discuss how to create art from their experiences. “It has been such a joy and honor to work with the brilliant mind of Handan. Her artistry inspires my own and this creative process has been one of the most influential projects for me,” said Gloria. “We are excited to share with our community what we have been working on, and I hope that our audience members can be open to this one-of-a-kind experience,” Ozgilbin added.

Recently, Gloria and Ozgilbin were awarded the 2022 Queens Arts Fund’s Grant from the Queens Council on the Arts. This grant is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Greater New York Arts Development Fund, in partnership with the City Council.