A Look Behind WAKE and the Process Behind Choreographing Grief

WAKE, a celebratory ritual for grief that centers queer, Filipino life and processes both personal and community loss through a combination of sound, dance, and video projection. WAKE is a work in progress that will be taking place at EMPAC On September 24th 2026, and the day before, on September 23, the composer Micaela Tobin, and choreographer Jay Carlon will give folks a look behind this performance in a Be The Media! workshop that will take place at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. EMPAC’s Theater and Dance curator, Tara Aisha Willis, spoke with Sina Basila Hickey for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.