The Brooklyn Academy of Music continues its 2025 Next Wave Festival with FOR REAL, an immersive performance by Resonate Productions that transforms the BAM Fisher (Fishman Space) into a live sound studio.
Running Nov. 19–23, the piece blurs the lines between theater, radio and podcast, inviting audiences into an unfiltered collective experience.
Created by harpist and “musical journalist” Andrea Voets, FOR REAL examines how societal norms and emotional blind spots perpetuate sexism, offering an unflinching look at the ways women’s experiences are often dismissed or diminished. Through a blend of original music, storytelling and spontaneous conversation, the performance creates space for truth-telling and shared reflection.
Each show doubles as a live podcast taping, where the audience becomes part of the dialogue, adding real-time reactions and reflections that deepen the collective listening experience. Voets is joined onstage by Sarah Jeffery on recorders and George Dumitriu on viola and guitar, using improvisation to accompany plus respond to live interviews with thinkers, artists and the audience itself.
FOR REAL marks Resonate Productions’ American debut and features contributions from international voices including Angela Saini, Aldith Hunkar, Kate Manne, Avery Trufelman and others.
Post-show talks extend the conversation each evening, featuring guests such as Avery Trufelman (Nov. 19), Angela Saini (Nov. 21), Catherine Liu (Nov. 22) and Arlie Hochschild (Nov. 23).
Performances take place at BAM Fisher, 321 Ashland Pl. Tickets start at $35.
