Global Performance Studio

Global Performance Studio (GPS)

A Program for Cultural Listening & Exchange + Process & Performance

Black and white photo of a man and woman in profile, with the woman in the foreground and the man in the background.

Led by Tom Pearson, The Global Performance Studio (GPS) expands the site-specific and experiential performance practices of Third Rail Projects into a global, collaborative initiative.

Through a framework rooted in cultural listening, GPS cultivates peer-to-peer artist exchanges and drives community building worldwide.

What We Do:

  • Collaborate & Create: Pair Third Rail Projects artists with local creators to build site-specific performance work.

  • Foster Cultural Diplomacy: Engage international communities through shared practice and meaningful dialogue.

  • Build Global Networks: Connect artists worldwide to share resources, methodologies, and residency opportunities.

Where We’ve Worked:

United States • Hong Kong • China • Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Germany • Italy • Russia

GPS DOCUMENTARY

I think that’s what’s particularly unique and powerful [about the Global Performance Studio]… that it’s a true collaboration... you’re coming up with these ideas together, and so it’s a true cross-cultural exchange. – Susan Katz, CEC Artslink

A woman with long reddish-brown hair, wearing a blue and black jacket, stands with her back to the camera. She is touching a white door or wall. In the foreground, a fishbowl with a blue fish and some rocks is visible, with text overlay about a performance film titled 'As Time Goes By' made in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

More info a As Time Goes By (2016) | Streaming on Vimeo (Rent $2.99 / Buy $9.99 Buy) | Documentary & Performance Adaptation, 36:00 min.

As Time Goes By (2016) was the inaugural project of the Global Performance Studio. For one-month, U.S. and Russian-based artists met in St. Petersburg to share methodologies and practices for devising movement-based theater within site-specific and immersive formats which resulted in the first ever performances of contemporary immersive theater in Russia. Collaborators created a new work for the Ziferburg (a time cafe), and offered audiences an invitation into experiential encounters with performers and situations that unfolded throughout the staircases, rooms and hallways. As action occurred throughout the space, a fragmented narrative emerged through repetition, duration and simultaneity, about our relationship to passing time and what it costs us. (Documentary Short Film and Performance Adaptation, 36:00 min.).

Two women are engaged in a physical activity or training taking place indoors, with one woman kneeling and leaning against a wall, and the other woman supporting her from behind.

MISSION

GPS responds dynamically to participating artists, unique sites, and current cultural contexts. Through collaborative workshops, we share Tom Pearson’s and Third Rail Projects’ award-winning, site-specific methodologies, while inviting local participants to bring their own inquiry and expertise to the table. Out of this cross-cultural dialogue, cohorts conceive, develop, and present original experiential works—creating lasting opportunities for extended performances and site adaptations.

Connect With Us
Footprints with Russian handwriting on soles of feet, with a smiling woman in the background.

SUPPORT

The Global Performance Studio is made possible with the support of organizations and individuals who value cultural exchange and idea sharing, fostering mutual understanding, and providing opportunities for artists to co-develop new works.

To add your support please visit our donor platform:

Donate to GPS

 GPS Projects

Some links are forthcoming.