Theatre
Cranberries
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Cranberries is a micro-opera for 2 sopranos, baritone, percussion, and electronics, that explores food preparation, cooking, kitchen sounds, and the rhythms, ideas, and themes present in Gertrude Stein’s Cranberries from “Tender Buttons.” Through 14 sections, the work leads the listener through a memory or dream of an accelerated Thanksgiving Day. Sections alternate between phonetic textures, onomatopoeia, vocal imitations of kitchen/cooking sounds, various singing styles, and stanzas of Stein’s text.
The piece begins with morning preparations—birds chirp and vegetables are prepped. Problems arise with the gas stove, which is resolved. Food begins to sizzle and bubble, water boils, kettles whistle, vegetables are cut, chopped, and grated, as time accelerates and ticks by. Food is seasoned and the turkey browns. Alarms are set off, but the turkey is moist and cooked to perfection. Champagne is uncorked and drinks are poured as guests arrive and begin mingling and eating appetizers. The table is set, thanks, prayers, and toasts are given, and dinner is served. Coffee is ground, milk is frothed, and the pie is made. Dessert is plated and whipped cream is shaken and served. The evening finishes with guests saying goodnight as the hosts clean up. The work was premiered during Guerrilla Opera's Emergence Fellowship Showcase at Slosberg Recital Hall at Brandeis University in March, 2020. Performance Ensemble: Mary Mackenzie (soprano), Felicia Chen (soprano), Brian Church (baritone), Mike Williams (percussion). Creative Team: Aliana de la Guardia, Julia Noulin-Merat, Brenda L. Huggins, Keithlyn Parkman, James Praznik, Sarah Schneider, Mark DiGiovanni, & Tae Kim. |
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[I]nquiry II
Photo by James DeMuth
“With dancers moving in and amongst audience members, this multimedia performance blurs the lines between the performer and spectator to bring attention to our everyday engagement in each of these roles within our live and online interactions, as well as the impact each has on the other.” - Kim Brooks Mata
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[I]nquiry II is a multidisciplinary collaboration between choreographer Kim Brook Mata, media designer Mona Kasra, and composer Leah Reid. The performance alludes to the contemporary phenomenon of selfies and prompts a new dialogue about the perception, representation, and projection of the curated self in the digital culture. The work was performed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History - Flag Hall, Washington, DC in April, 2019.
The ACCelerate festival is programmed by Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. 
Creative Team: Mona Kasra (Media/Projection Design) Kim Brooks Mata (Choreographer), Leah Reid (Composer), & Mellisa Singer (Costume Design). Dancers: Gabrielle Struckell, Amy Dalrymple, Carolyn Diamond, Deanna Lewis, Ridhi Sahani, & Bryce Cuthriell. Design Team: Andrew Carluccio & Dallas Simms. Photos by Stuart Mauck. 
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In Vivo Danse
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In Vivo Danse is an improvisation based work for 20 performer-dancers and 4 composers, that focuses on sounds, vibrations, and movements of human bodies laughing. The piece was created during a workshop at IRCAM's ManiFeste in 2017.
Choreographer: Alessandro Sciarroni. Choreographer's Assistant: Marta Ciappina. IRCAM Computer Music Technical Team: Jean Lochard & Sebastien Naves. Composers: Leo Collin, Mauricio Loseto Brito, Stanislav Makovsky, & Leah Reid. Dancers: Alexis Amundarain, Alice Bounmy, Chikage Doi, Elodie Escarmelle, Rodrigo Estrada, Perinne Gontie, Maxime Guillon-Roi-Sans-Sac, Corentin Le Flohic, Justine Lebas, Felipe Moreira, Michele Ndjongui, Guedalia Reyraud, Herve Scherwey, Francesca Sproccati, Evita Tsakalaki, & Sidney Wemtworth. |
Fragment of IRCAM's demo video from ManiFeste 2017
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