NORTH AMERICAN CULTURAL LABORATORY

BUILDING A HAVEN FOR independent exploratory art and culture

We are an artist-run, member-supported, nonprofit residency center dedicated to research and development in the performing arts.

Join us in making 2024 A YEAR OF ABUNDANCE by donating to our WINTER FUND DRIVE, now through December 31st!

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Periodic Table

Check Out The Periodic Table and Become a Member of NACL

The Periodic Table is our online journal of inquiries and findings that provides a forum for members near and far to engage with the work.

The Gift Shop

Deep Space

THE DEEP SPACE RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Deep Space supports the development of new work by established and emerging artists and groups who make devised, original, or ensemble performance. The program allows artists time and space to experiment — to explore new ideas or dig deeper into ongoing projects — and to refine artistic choices for performance works in various stages of development. Each residency incorporates a public sharing of work-in-progress with an audience accustomed to engaging with raw material and curious about all stages of the artistic process. These public exchanges can take the form of informal discussions, readings, trial runs, or full productions, and are typically followed by a simple shared meal.

NACL Spaces

WORKSPACE : LIFESPACE : DREAMSPACE

One of our greatest resources is space, both interior and exterior. The theatre and adjacent 12-bedroom artist residence allow concentrated time for groups and individuals to focus on creative work. The surrounding environs of lake and woodland provide both an invaluable insulation from mundane concerns and fresh inspiration for the spirit.

NACL Productions

DEVISING LINES

NACL was founded in a distinctive tradition of ensemble theatre that prioritizes a performer-driven creative process. Works are constructed from performer-generated material with a director/playwright jointly building the structure of a performance over time in a kind of give and take that shapes not only the final product but the participants themselves. The company produced 20 original full productions in its first two decades.

Over a Quarter-Century of Exploration and Discovery

In 2022 NACL marked 25 years as an organization committed to fostering new works in the performing arts. The following slideshow was created to commemorate this anniversary and pay tribute to the countless artists who have passed in and out of the doorways (and windows) and given something of themselves that lingers in the walls and the ceilings and the floors of Lakewood House and St. Bernardine’s lakeside chapel.

Soundtrack from the NACL production The Uncanny Appearance of Sherlock Holmes, 2008; Music by Glenn Hall, Lyrics by Brett Keyser; Performed by Hall, Keyser, and Sarah Dey Hirshan

In Memoriam

Ker Wells

1964 - 2019