Summer 2021 Artist Residencies
May 14—30: Heartbeat Opera, The Extinctionist
Heartbeat Opera developed The Extinctionist, the ensemble’s first original work, during a two-week residency. Founding director Louisa Proske, composer Daniel Schlosberg, conductor Jacob Ashworth, and librettist Amanda Quaid (who adapted her one-act play) rehearsed with Kelly Griffin and Claire Leyden, sopranos, and the baritones Benjamin Dickerson and Matthew Gamble. Schlosberg (violin) and Ashworth (piano) were joined by percussionist Caitlin Cawley and Guitarist Thomas Flippin. Concert versions of The Extinctionist were presented on May 29 and 30, followed by discussions with the audience about the residency, what inspired the playwright to dramatize the subject, the process of adapting the play to opera, and its urgent political message.
Pianist and Composer Daniel Schlosberg rehearsing at PS21’s theater. Photos by Amanda Picotte
Sopranos Claire Leyden and Kelly Griffin compare notes.
Percussionist Caitlin Cawley in rehearsal on PS21’s stage
Guitarist Thomas Flippin in rehearsal on PS21’s stage
Proske described The Extinctionist, a dark comedy about a couple agonizing over whether to have a child in a world threatened with environmental apocalypse, as “a haiku opera. It’s very, very distilled.” Ashworth noted that although it’s impossible to “put climate change itself onstage, what you can do is show what climate change does to a marriage, to a friendship, to people’s choices in their lives, to their own involvement in the world around them.” The full work is scheduled to premiere in 2023.
The Cast, Band, and Directors of The Extinctionist in PS21’s Black Box Theater.
May 29, the cast and crew of Heartbeat Opera bow before a sold out, socially distanced audience, after the premiere of The Extinctionist, inaugurating PS21’s summer season. Photo by Steven Taylor.
Watch the mini documentary from Heartbeat Opera about the making of the work and the PS21 residency process.
TEAM
Music by Daniel Schlosberg
Libretto by Amanda Quaid
Directed by Louisa Proske
Music Directed by Jacob Ashworth
CAST
WOMAN – Kelly Griffin
MAN – Benjamin Dickerson
FRIEND – Claire Leyden
DOCTOR – Matthew Gamble
BAND
VIOLIN/CONDUCTOR – Jacob Ashworth
GUITARS – Thomas Flippin
PERCUSSION – Caitlin Cawley
PIANO – Daniel Schlosberg
June 21—July 4; August 1—8: The Paul Taylor Dance Company
During their two-part residency, the Paul Taylor dancers rehearsed, reworked, and performed several of the choreographer’s signature works, including Company B, Esplanade, and Aureole. Dancers of the company were on site with Claudio Schellino, Ballet Master at Staatstheater Saarbrücken, Jeanette Vondersaar, renowned soloist of multiple ballet companies, and former principle dancer of 21 years for the Dutch National Ballet, and rehearsal director Bettie de Jong, the former lead dancer of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
In August, the company reconstructed Kurt Jooss’s modernist masterpiece The Green Table, a work created in 1932, whose mesmerizing choreography and passionate anti-war sentiment are as essential in our era as they were in the last century. It was performed at PS21’s Gala on August 6 and for the public on August 7. The performance on August 6 was accompanied by a panel discussion about the staggering impact of the work, and the role of dance in society both then and now.
The panel discussion before the performance of The Green Table at PS21’s Gala on August 6. With panelists Claudio Schellino, Michael Novak, Jeannette Vondersaar, and moderator and PS21 board member Jamal Jackson.