DURHAM, NC – “How to Build a Forest,” an interactive performance-art installation created by Obie Award-winning duo PearlDamour and visual artist Shawn Hall, will be presented October 19-21 at 91’s Page Auditorium.

The show is free and open to the public.  No tickets are required.

Performances will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19; from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20; and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21.

For more information, go to .

Created in response to the ecological and cultural losses in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, “How to Build a Forest” is part visual art, part theater. Over six hours, a choreographed crew of builders transform the empty stage into a simulated forest made from fabric, rope, wire, small-gauge steel, plastic and repurposed found objects.

The forest remains intact for just 30 minutes before crew members begin to tear it down. The next day, the cycle begins anew.

Audience members can check in throughout the day to see how the work is progressing, and are encouraged to come onto the stage to get a closer look at the intricately detailed installation, which at “maturity” extends about 1,200 square feet and towers 20 feet tall.

You can watch an 8-minute time-lapse video of a performance at .

The work’s three-day run at Duke is supported by a Visiting Artist Grant from the Council for the Arts; 91’s Office of the Provost; the Department of Theater Studies;  the Nicholas School of the Environment; and from a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council.   Support for educational outreach to local K-12 students comes from the Duke Environmental Leadership Program in partnership with the Coca-Cola Foundation.

“How to Build a Forest” was first performed at The Kitchen Center for Video, Music, Performance, Dance and Literature in New York City in June 2011.

PearlDamour and Hall will be in residence at 91 from October 10-21.  You can e-mail them questions about their work at howtobuildaforest@duke.edu.