acolyte training

About the Performance:
acolyte training is an installation play for queer products of Black Southern Christianity.

The Acolytes of the AME Zion (African Methodist Episcopal) Church are a religious organization that dress and act uniformly. They set the mood for the worship service by lighting the candles to represent when the spirit has entered and snuff the candles out at the end of service to signify when the spirit has left. In many churches, Acolytes are roles only given to young girls.

The installation and performance follows 3 Acolytes exploring the liminality of their rite of passage and the community found during said transition. In that in-between, the Acolytes exist as almost nothing as they transition from child to clergy-member, from girl to woman. In the performance, they explore that space together, and each decide what it means to complete training and their arrival at their next state: Acolyte, Woman, and Vessel. This installation play is an effort to connect with other Black queers who live in the space that sits between their culture's compass and chasm.

Cast & Creative Team
Installation Artist/Director: Marissa Salett
Assistant Director: Noma Mirny

About the Lead Artist:
Mars Salett (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist. They primarily work as an oil painter, soft sculptor, and theater maker with the intent for world-building, childlike character exploration, and absurd realism. Through memory, interview, and play based work, they use their art to connect to religious southern communities they once called home. They graduated from Bard College in 2025 with a BA in Studio Arts and a minor in Theater and Performance. They currently reside in Queens, NY, and are an ATLien at heart. Their work has been shown in group shows in NYC, Upstate NY, Germany, and Georgia.

About the CWP Evolution Festival
The fifth annual CWP EVOLUTION FESTIVAL presents original works of theater, dance, music, comedy, and interdisciplinary performance by NYC-based artists at venues across Manhattan in June and September 2026. Participants receive free performance & rehearsal space, marketing & technical support, a guaranteed artist fee, performance photography and archival videography, and more! Learn more about the festival and the 20+ other shows on the schedule at www.centeratwestpark.org/evolution-festival-2026