This Takes Place Close By
Members of the music collective thingNY are in the studio to discuss the world premiere of This Takes Place Close By – an experimental opera exploring the reactions of isolated individuals in the wake of a devastating storm. Director Ashley Tata and two of the production's six composer-performers, Andrew Livingston and Jeffrey Young, sit down with Pete McCabe to talk about the process and essence of this collaborative opera.
This Takes Place Close By was conceived in response to Sandy, Katrina, and other urban, natural disasters. Each character represents someone either victimized by the storm or searching for a way to cope with the damaging effects of the catastrophe, and their distinct vocal lines communicate the tension, pain, and solemnity of the story being told. Although crafted in an unconventional style for an opera (with a heavily character driven plot), the members classify This Takes Place Close By as an opera because it aligns with the Wagnerian ideal of the art form, in which each aspect (spatial, sonic, dramatic, etc.) are equally important.
Performances of This Takes Place Close By take place at Knockdown Center, September 24-27, 2015.
thingNY is a quirky collective of New York composer-performers who fuse electronic and acoustic chamber music with new opera, improvisation, theater, text, song and installation. Founded in 2006 for an ad hoc festival in the historic Loew’s Jersey City Theater, thingNY performs experimental sound works created collaboratively by the core ensemble. To bolster and support experimental performance, its members have curated the New Music Showdown (2013-2014) and the Immediacies Series (2012-2014).
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Since 1993, HERE has been one of New York’s most prolific producing organizations, and today, it stands at the forefront of the city’s presenters of daring new hybrid art. HERE supports multidisciplinary work that does not fit into a conventional programming agenda. Our aesthetic represents the independent, the innovative, and the experimental: HERE has developed such acclaimed works as Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues; Basil Twist’s Symphonie Fantastique; Basil Twist and Joey Arias' Arias with a Twist; Hazelle Goodman’s On Edge; Young Jean Lee's Songs of The Dragons Flying To Heaven; Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle’s all wear bowlers; Faye Driscoll's837 Venice Boulevard; Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge and original musical and dance works created and directed by HERE Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kristin Marting.
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