Under the Mirrors: A Summer Inside Bard’s Spiegeltent

Every summer, a small miracle arrives in a meadow at Bard College. An ornate Belgian mirror tent—part dance hall, part dreamscape, part time machine—rises against the Hudson Valley landscape and begins drawing people in. Its stained glass glows at sunset. Hundreds of mirrors catch candlelight and laughter. Music spills into the evening air.

For a few fleeting months, Spiegeltent becomes one of the region’s most enchanting destinations—a place where comedy, cabaret, bluegrass, storytelling, drag, dancing, and artistic discovery unfold beneath carved wood, velvet drapery, and old-world glamour.

Part Belle Époque fantasy, part European salon, part artistic playground, the Spiegeltent feels as though a piece of Moulin Rouge drifted up the Hudson River and decided to spend the summer in Annandale-on-Hudson.

Now entering its nineteenth season at the Fisher Center at Bard, the Spiegeltent returns with a summer of comedy, cabaret, music, storytelling, drag, bluegrass, dance parties, and artistic discovery. But according to Aaron Mattocks, Executive Producer and Chief Operating Officer of the Fisher Center, the real magic begins long before the first performer takes the stage. “The tent itself is the wonder,” he says. “What we put inside it is the icing on the cake.”

“The tent itself is the wonder. What we put inside it is the icing on the cake.” — Aaron Mattocks

For Mattocks, and Producer and Spiegeltent Curator Jason Collins, the goal isn’t simply to book great performers. It’s to create the conditions for surprise. The kind that happens when an audience discovers a new favorite artist. When a comedian brings an entire room to tears of laughter. When strangers find themselves dancing together beneath a century-old mirrored ceiling. In an increasingly predictable world, the Spiegeltent remains gloriously, joyfully unpredictable.

We sat down with Mattocks to talk about the art of curating surprise, why comedy feels especially important right now, and what keeps audiences returning to the tent year after year.

INSIDE+OUT: The Spiegeltent feels like a character as much as a venue. What makes it so special?

AARON MATTOCKS: The Spiegeltent isn’t simply a place where performances happen—it becomes part of the performance itself. These historic mirrored tents originated as traveling European dance halls, and ours is one of only a handful still in operation today.

I often describe it as what might happen if someone transformed a carousel into a theater. There’s a wonderful sense of discovery the moment you walk through the doors.

People compare it to Moulin Rouge, and I completely understand why. There’s something romantic and slightly surreal about it. The moment you walk inside, the outside world begins to fade away. You’re surrounded by mirrors, stained glass, music, and people who have all gathered to share the same experience. It invites you to step outside your everyday life and into something a little more unexpected.

INSIDE+OUT: People often describe their first visit as if they have stumbled into a secret. What do you hope audiences experience when they walk inside?

AARON MATTOCKS: I hope they feel transported and present at the same time. The mirrors, the circular layout, the intimacy—it creates the feeling that whatever is happening inside belongs only to the people who are there that evening.

It’s almost like entering a hidden world. The venue isn’t simply where the performance takes place. It’s sharing the stage. The tent becomes part of the story.

INSIDE+OUT: How do you begin curating a season for a space like this?

AARON MATTOCKS: Jason and I spend a lot of time talking about the shape of the season before we ever talk about individual artists.

What makes the Spiegeltent special is its variety. We want local artists and national artists. We want someone you could run into at the farmers market and someone you’ve seen on television. We want music, comedy, cabaret, drag, bluegrass, storytelling, and artists who don’t fit neatly into any category. For many people, the tent is their first introduction to Bard. Others only come to the Spiegeltent and nowhere else. Both experiences are equally important to us.

“We want someone you could run into at the farmers market—and someone you’ve seen on television.” — Aaron Mattocks

The goal isn’t simply entertainment. The goal is discovery. We want audiences to walk into the tent not quite knowing what they’re about to experience and leave having found a new favorite artist, a new kind of music, or a new way of seeing something.

INSIDE+OUT: You gave a wonderful analogy about pizza and sushi when discussing curation. Tell us more about that.

AARON MATTOCKS: I think of programming like building a menu. If you only ever feed people pizza, and they love pizza, they’ll continue asking for pizza. What they don’t know is that they might also love sushi.

Part of our responsibility is introducing audiences to something they didn’t know they wanted. Some of the most rewarding nights in the tent happen when someone buys a ticket simply because they trust us. They arrive without knowing the artist and leave completely captivated. Those are the moments you remember.

“Some of the most rewarding nights in the tent happen when someone buys a ticket simply because they trust us.” — Aaron Mattocks

INSIDE+OUT: This season features some of the strongest comedy programming the tent has ever hosted. Why does comedy feel especially important right now?

AARON MATTOCKS: We need laughter. We need release. We need rooms filled with people experiencing joy together. That’s one of the reasons comedy feels so important this year. In a world where so much of our entertainment is consumed alone, comedy reminds us what happens when hundreds of people react together in the same room. The laughter becomes contagious. It creates community almost instantly. The best comedy isn’t really about punchlines. It’s about vulnerability. It’s about exposing the awkward, imperfect, foolish parts of ourselves that everyone recognizes.

And in the Spiegeltent, comedians don’t have the luxury of hiding behind giant screens or production effects. They’re right there with the audience. That intimacy creates a completely different kind of connection.

The world will still be waiting for us outside the tent when we leave. For a few hours, we can sit together, laugh together, and remember how good it feels to share an experience with other people.

INSIDE+OUT: Was there ever a moment when you took a chance on an artist and watched the audience completely fall in love?

AARON MATTOCKS: Absolutely. A few summers ago, Sunny Jain performed in the tent. It wasn’t one of our strongest ticket sellers because audiences didn’t know him yet. I stopped in expecting to stay fifteen minutes and ended up staying for the entire show. By the end, everyone was out of their seats and dancing.

People spent the rest of the summer telling me it had been their favorite night. Those are the moments that reinforce why taking risks matters. Sometimes audiences don’t know what they’ll love until they experience it.

INSIDE+OUT: The Fisher Center has a reputation for nurturing artists before the rest of the world catches on. Does that influence what happens in the tent?

AARON MATTOCKS: Very much. One of the things we’re increasingly interested in is not just presenting work but helping create it. For years, the Spiegeltent has been a place where audiences can discover artists and performances they might not encounter elsewhere. This year, we’re taking that idea a step further.

We’re welcoming Martha Redbone for a week-long developmental residency connected to Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks, a new multidisciplinary work being developed in partnership with the Apollo Theater. Martha has been part of the Spiegeltent story for years, but this is something different. She’ll be here for an extended residency, developing new elements of the work, collaborating with partners on campus, and exploring what the piece can become before it travels beyond Bard.

What’s exciting is that this represents a larger shift in how we’re thinking about the tent. Instead of asking, “What existing show can we bring here?” we’re increasingly asking, “What show doesn’t exist yet, and how can we help it come into being?”

The Fisher Center has long been committed to developing and incubating new work that can travel into the world beyond Bard. We’re beginning to bring more of that mission into the Spiegeltent itself. This residency is the first real example of that—a collaboration between the tent, the Fisher Center, the Apollo Theater, and Bard’s Center for Indigenous Studies that allows an artist time, space, and community to create.

For years, the Spiegeltent has been a place where audiences could discover artists. Now we’re asking a different question: Can it also be a place where new work is born?

The tent will always be a place for music, comedy, cabaret, and discovery. But it’s also becoming a place for artistic incubation and creation. That’s a really exciting evolution.

“The tent will always be a place for music, comedy, cabaret, and discovery. But it’s also becoming a place for artistic incubation and creation.” — Aaron Mattocks

INSIDE+OUT: How much does Bard’s academic environment shape that spirit of experimentation?

AARON MATTOCKS: A tremendous amount. Bard has always embraced curiosity, inquiry, and creative risk-taking. That spirit absolutely influences the Spiegeltent.

We’re interested in artists at every stage of their careers. Artists with strong points of view. Artists who are trying something new or exploring forms that don’t fit neatly into established categories.

The college’s commitment to curiosity gives us permission to stay curious, too.

INSIDE+OUT: In a world dominated by screens, what can live performance still offer that nothing else can?

AARON MATTOCKS: Connection. The possibility of failure. The possibility of surprise. The possibility of being completely present.
The thing I love about live performance in the tent is that nobody can really go on autopilot. The artist has to stay engaged. The audience has to stay engaged. Everyone is sharing the same moment together. That’s becoming increasingly rare—and increasingly valuable.

INSIDE+OUT: And then, after the performances end, the dancing begins.

AARON MATTOCKS: That’s one of my favorite things about the entire summer. Most people don’t realize the night isn’t over when the curtain comes down. At the end of the performance, we ask everyone to step outside into the beer garden for a little while. The team goes into the tent, clears the tables, opens up the center floor, and completely transforms the room.

Twenty minutes earlier, you were sitting in a cabaret-style theater watching a performance. Suddenly, it becomes a dance hall where you can shake a feather!

A DJ takes over. The mirrors catch the lights. People who arrived as audience members find themselves dancing together beneath this extraordinary century-old tent. It’s probably the closest thing the Hudson Valley has to a European-style late-night salon. Some people come for the performances. Some come just for the dancing. By the end of the night, everyone is sharing the same space.

It’s joyful. It’s inclusive. It’s a little unexpected. And honestly, watching the tent transform is one of the most magical parts of the entire season.

“Some people come for the performances. Some come just for the dancing. By the end of the night, everyone is sharing the same space.” — Aaron Mattocks

INSIDE+OUT: If someone only had time for one or two nights under the mirrors this summer, what would you tell them not to miss?

AARON MATTOCKS: That’s almost impossible to answer. Underground System opens the season with an incredible blend of Afrobeat, disco, punk, and global dance music that feels like a perfect thesis statement for what the Spiegeltent can be.

I’m excited about Martha Redbone, who has become such an important part of the tent’s history, and about welcoming artists making their Spiegeltent debuts, including Samora Pinderhughes, Jacqueline Novak, The Fretliners, Al Olender, and James Austin Johnson.

Adrienne Truscott returns as our emcee and remains one of the most magnetic performers I’ve ever watched. She makes me laugh harder than anyone.

And then we close the season with BenDeLaCreme, which feels like the perfect finale—funny, fearless, wildly talented, and exactly the kind of artist who thrives in the intimacy of the tent. It’s a gift to the staff at the end of the season for all the hard work.

INSIDE+OUT: After nineteen seasons, what still gives you goosebumps?

AARON MATTOCKS: The possibility. You can circle a random night on the calendar and decide you’re going to the Spiegeltent. You might not know the artist. You might not know the genre. But you’re going to leave with something to talk about. That’s what I love. It’s always an experience.

Beneath the Mirrors

The real magic of the Spiegeltent? A stranger becomes a dance partner. A comedian becomes someone you’ll talk about all summer. A song you’ve never heard before becomes the soundtrack to the drive home.

As the evening unfolds, the boundaries begin to blur—the audience and the performers, the planned and the unexpected, the spectacle and the simple pleasure of being together in a room full of curious people. The mirrors reflect it all back: the laughter, the applause, the delight of discovery.

For nineteen summers, the Spiegeltent has offered something increasingly rare—a place where people gather not to scroll, swipe, or hurry on to the next thing, but to stay awhile. To share an experience that exists only in that moment and nowhere else. And perhaps that’s why people keep coming back year after year.

Not because it transports us somewhere else.

But because, beneath stained glass and candlelight, it reminds us exactly where we are: together, sharing the oldest form of entertainment there is—a room full of people gathered around a story.

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Spiegeltent 2026 at Bard SummerScape  | Line-up and Tickets HERE

Photos courtesy of Spiegeltent | Writer: Sophie Knight

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