How to Survive

Suzanne Bocanegra
The Crossing & Donald Nally

If you stay calm you can think clearly.
If you think clearly you can survive.

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A multimedia installation bringing together The Crossing with acclaimed interdisciplinary artist and writer Suzanne Bocanegra to ask…

What does it mean to survive in a world where extreme weather is becoming increasingly familiar—and devastating?

Conceived, written and designed by Bocanegra, How to Survive transforms The Crossing’s singers into a life-size, visual and sonic experience. Four new songs—composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Shara Nova, Julia Wolfe and Ayanna Woods—form the backbone of the installation, with each movement responding to a different natural disaster: tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires.

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November 20, 2026–January 3, 2027
The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia

Daily, Wednesday–Friday 12–6pm / Saturday–Sunday 12–5pm

Opening Reception
Friday, December 4, 2026

Artist Talk with Suzanne Bocanegra
6:00–7:00 pm

Public Reception
7:00–9:00 pm

The work combines choral music, film, sound installation, and costume to consider the increasingly urgent realities of climate change, environmental disruption and weather-related displacement.

Rather than treating climate disaster as an abstract or distant threat, How to Survive asks us to imagine ourselves inside it. Practical survival instructions appear alongside music and moving images, creating an experience that is at once unsettling, darkly humorous, intimate, and deeply human. The installation considers not only how people physically survive disasters, but also how technology, community, memory, art and collective knowledge might help us navigate a rapidly changing world. The collaboration creates an immersive, instructional and at times droll—and terrifying—exploration of what it means to endure, with The Crossing providing the vocal force at its center.

How to Survive is made possible through generous support by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from Carol Westfall, The New England Foundation for Psychoanalysis, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

photos by Linda Johnson

EARTHQUAKE

words by Suzanne Bocanegra
music by Hildur Guðnadóttir

If you find yourself in an earthquake, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

If you are inside when the earthquake comes, remain inside
If you are inside, stay away from windows and glass
If you are inside, drop to the ground, take cover
If you are inside, get under a sturdy table and hold on tight, until the shaking stops

If you are in bed when the earthquake comes, stay in bed, protect your head and neck

If you are outside when the earthquake comes, stay away from buildings, trees and power lines
If you are outside, drop to the ground, protect your head and neck

If you are driving when the earthquake comes, pull over to the side of the road
If you are driving, stay away from buildings, trees and power lines

When the shaking stops, try to find a safer space
When the shaking stops, find a clear area outside, away from buildings, away from trees, away from power lines
When the shaking stops, if you are by the ocean, walk quickly inland and to higher ground
When the shaking stops, if you cannot find a safer space, stay inside

If you become trapped when the earthquake comes, remain where you are 
If you become trapped, cover your mouth with your clothing
If you become trapped, make tapping noises so rescuers can find you

If you find yourself in an earthquake, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

HURRICANE

words by Suzanne Bocanegra
music by Julia Wolfe

If you find yourself in a hurricane, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

If you are told to evacuate when the hurricane comes, evacuate immediately

If you are inside when the hurricane comes, remain inside
If you are inside, stay away from windows and glass
If you are inside, drop to the ground, take cover
If you are inside and flooding starts, move to a higher level

If you are outside when the hurricane comes, seek shelter
If you are outside, do not try to walk through flowing water

If you are driving when the hurricane comes, seek shelter
If you are driving, do not try to drive through flowing water

When the hurricane stops, be sure the storm has passed
When the hurricane stops, stay away from fallen power lines
When the hurricane stops, stay away from floodwaters, which may contain raw sewage

If you become trapped when the hurricane comes, move to a higher level
If you become trapped while you are driving, remain inside your car
If water is rising inside your car, seek refuge on the roof

If you find yourself in a hurricane, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

TORNADO

words by Suzanne Bocanegra
music by Shara Nova 

If you find yourself in a tornado, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

If you are inside when the tornado comes, remain inside
If you are inside, stay away from windows and glass
If you are inside, drop to the ground, take cover
If you are inside, get under a sturdy table and hold on tight, until the tornado stops

If you are outside when a tornado comes, seek shelter
If you are outside, stay away from cars, trees and power lines
If you are outside, find a gully, ditch or low spot, and lie flat
If you are outside, drop to the ground, protect your head and neck

If you are driving when the tornado comes, pull over to the side of the road, 
away from other cars, trees and power lines
Put on your seatbelt, lower your head and neck below the windows
Protect your head and neck

When the tornado stops, remain where you are until you are sure it is safe
Wait until the storm has passed
Wait until the winds and rain have stopped
Wait until you hear the roaring of the storm has stopped

If you find yourself in a tornado, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

WILDFIRE

words by Suzanne Bocanegra
music by Ayanna Woods 

If you find yourself in a wildfire, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

If you can evacuate when the wildfire comes, evacuate immediately

If you are trapped inside when the wildfire comes, remain inside
If you are trapped inside, turn on the lights, so firefighters can see inside more easily
If you are trapped inside, unlock your doors, so firefighters can get inside more easily
If you are trapped inside, close all windows and doors, close all vents, turn off the air conditioning
If you are trapped inside, remove all curtains from the windows
If you are trapped inside, stay away from exterior walls
If you are trapped inside, fill sinks and tubs with water

If you are outside when a wildfire comes, find an area without vegetation
If you are outside, find a gully, ditch or low spot, and lie flat
If you are outside, cover your entire body with a blanket or a coat, or dirt
If you are outside, cover your mouth with fabric, to keep from breathing in the smoke

If you are driving when a wildfire comes, do not try to drive through heavy smoke or fire
If you are driving, pull over to the side of the road, park away from vegetation
Close all windows and vents, cover yourself with a blanket or a coat
Lie down on the floor of the vehicle, until the wildfire passes

If you find yourself in a wildfire, stay calm
If you stay calm you can think clearly
If you think clearly you can survive

How to Survive
The Crossing and Donald Nally
conceived, written, and designed by Suzanne Bocanegra
with new compositions of Hildur Guðnadóttir, Shara Nova, Julia Wolfe, and Ayanna Woods

The Crossing

Jessica Beebe • Karen Blanchard • Steven Bradshaw • Aryssa Burrs • Micah Dingler • Ben Ferriby • Joanna Gates • Michaël Hudetz • Steven Hyder • Lauren Kelly • Anika Kildegaard • Fran Daniel Laucerica • Chelsea Lyons • Andrew Major • Hannah Dixon McConnell • Olivia Prendergast • James Reese • Daniel Schwartz^ • Rebecca Siler • Daniel Spratlan • Elisa Sutherland • Daniel Taylor • Morgan Watts • Jackson Williams
___________
^ Drum on Hurricane

Donald Nally, conductor
Shannon McMahon, managing director
Kevin Vondrak, associate conductor & producer, artistic projects
Naomi Bennett, artistic associate
John Grecia, company keyboardist
Lee Hagon & Andrew Major, guest keyboardists
Paul Vazquez, sound designer
Chelsea Lyons, community engagement manager
Elizabeth Dugan, bookkeeper
Katherine Desimine, administrative assistant
Matthew Brown & Christian Johnson, summer associates for How to Survive

The Crossing is represented by Alliance Artist Management and Luzi Media

Audio produced by Paul Vazquez, Donald Nally & Kevin Vondrak
Editing, Mixing and Mastering by Paul Vazquez
Paul Vazquez, recording engineer
Christian Leitner, assistant recording engineer

Film by Four/Ten Media

Suzanne Bocanegra, costume design
Bill Haddad, installation technical designer
Santino Lo, project & production manager
Colin Sass (10th Floor Productions), installation
Jenni Profera, wardrobe supervisor
Kristen Scites, wardrobe assistant
Linda Johnson, photographer
Carlo Benavides, carpenter
Heidi Kurtz, caterer

Recorded July 23–25, 2026 at Cedar Ridge Studios, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.