Leyna Marika P.'s SONG Opens Next Week at HERE

Inspired by Obon, Japan's week-long celebration for calling back the dead, SONG is a movement-based opera that moves in and out of liminal spaces, taking place in a subconscious, dream-like space with temporary inhabitants.

A poem, a pocket of time, a wish, a lie, a piece of you, a fragment of me, or a way to become we, SONG takes place in a mysterious mechanical space ruled by timelessness and music. A game-like structure guides seven distinct performers, including an opera singer, a taiko drummer, a jazz guitarist, and a butoh dancer. Together with a fox-like sculptural instrument that operates a bit like a wizard behind a curtain, the performers create non-linear, fragmented portraits of themselves, allowing them to express the difficulties around social life, the sense of self, and a longing to escape it all.

"The space also has a mind of its own, and it is ruled by music," says creator Leyna Marika P. "The show becomes a ritual about the dynamics of the human experience with all its twists and turns, but all that has happened in this so-called 'drama' can also be sung in one song. Through the song, everyone is elevated momentarily and integrated with each other, because that is the mystery of music-it is used as a tool to connect wherever people exist."

Ultimately, SONG illuminates the thread between life, death, and music through a live and interactive landscape of music, drama, light and dance.

SONG features Kamala Sankram, Ava Mendoza, Megan Stern, Chikako Bando, Christian Dautresme, Kaoru Watanabe, and Leyna Marika P., with set design by Leyna Marika P. and Jerry Smith, Jr., lighting design by Ayumu Poe Saegusa, costumes by Irina Arnaut and choreographic advice by Michel Kouakou.

Performance Schedule:
Wed June 29 at 8:30PM
Thurs June 30 at 8:30PM
Fri July 1 at 8:30PM
Sat July 2 at 8:30PM

Location:
HERE is located at 145 Ave of the Americas (6th Ave). Entrance is on Dominick St one block south of Spring. C/E trains to Spring Street stop.

More info at:
http://here.org/shows/detail/1784/

Tickets:
$18

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