Big Boy Dance | Bunk Beds

Bunk Beds (2025) is a new iteration in a series of performances devised by Tristan Koepke (Portland, ME) and Benny Olk (Minneapolis, MN) that began with There’s Only One Bed (2023) at SPACE Gallery. Now, these artists bring their work back to Portland, ME at the beautiful Cove Stree Arts.

Inspired by the creative and amorous relationship between Merce Cunningham and John Cage, Instagram thirst traps, speculative masculinities, and romance novel tropes, Bunk Beds continues to interrogate what devotion and commitment to love, longing, and process can look like when you make room for more than two. Some material in this work references and cites rehearsal sketches from Cunningham’s Pictures and scores from Cage’s Song Books.

It's recommended to arrive promptly when doors open at 7PM for a film installation in the gallery. Live performance begins at at 7:30PM. Post-Show Discussion with the artists, moderated by scholar and artist Rebecca Steinberg, to follow.

This work is supported by the McGinty Fund for the Humanities and the Roger C. Schmutz Fund for Faculty Research (Bates College). We are very grateful for support from CANDYBOX Dance Festival, Bill Schierl & Sarena Melotte, Ben Olk & Kris Berggren, Karl Rogers, Mardell & Duane Brenegan, Lisa & Dave Johnson, Nancy & Paul Lewis, Brigitte Koepke Smith, Beverly West, George & Jane Dierberger, Kim O’Flaherty, Patty Schmitz & Alex Dietz, Sara Juli, Heidi Henderson, Nerissa Nelson, Amy Beversdorf, and TJ & Angie Conley, without whom the creation of this work would not have been possible.

Host or Publisher Tristan Koepke | Big Boy Dance