The Be Holding project was designed to be developed during a multi-year residency, where the artists meet at Girard College in the Fall and Spring each year to collaborate as a team and engage students as performers, designers, documentarians, and managers.

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the first two residencies, especially as Girard College is a boarding school. Hybrid schedules and evolving public health guidance meant that artists connected with students in virtual settings for writers' workshops, interviews, and tutorials.

The performance evolved as O'Harra, Sorey, and Yarn/Wire rehearsed on stage in the beautiful Girard College Chapel, home to an E.M. Skinner organ, the building itself an instrument. Digging into their creative collaboration, the group experimented with two poets performing in tandem, improvising and choreographing word, music, and movement.

Over 10 days in December 2022, rehearsals were staged in the Armory for the first time, giving the team a much better sense of how they would stage the performance. Video, sound, and stage managers joined the crew, and a core group of seven Girard College high school students had committed to the project, working closely on all aspects of the production, running video cues, performing original choreography, and documenting rehearsals.

An intimate preview performance during this residency marked a major milestone for the project, with the full show run through for the first time with a live audience.

The final residency in May 2023 will lead into the world premiere performance of Be Holding with four public showings May 31 - June 3.

As an inaugural program of Girard College's Campus for the City initiative, Be Holding has created unparalleled learning opportunities for students, fostered conversations about social justice, and opened the school's historic campus to diverse communities throughout Philadelphia and beyond.