O-Lan Jone's Overtone Industries Presents Third Opera Theater Development Workshop, Original Vision: Leveling, December 9

Overtone Industries, a genre-bending opera-theater company developing and presenting original stories, hosts Original Vision: Leveling, its third annual presentation of workshops from developing composers and librettists, on December 9 at 6pm at Teatro Frida Kahlo. Original Vision is an incubator project from Overtone Industries focused on encouraging and guiding composers and librettists to develop their unique visions in an authentic, boundary-breaking environment.

The project consists of a six-week workshop period with dedicated mentorship from Overtone's leadership. Everything culminates in a one-night presentation of new opera-theater scenes performed by Overtone's creative team.

“Overtone creates and develops authentic new stories in two ways: through our own original productions, and through supporting other artists with a vision for creating new worlds through music and opera. When we first created the Original Vision program, we tried to think of the type of support we would have appreciated as artists in our early days,” said O-Lan Jones, founder and artistic director of Overtone Industries. “As we work with these incredibly creative individuals, we are intent on immersing ourselves in the worlds that they have envisioned and helping them find the specifics that develop their pieces, rather than encouraging them to fit into the perceptions and preconceived notions that already exist elsewhere. We actively seek artists whose vision is so original that they also don't fit into any handy boxes. This year, we have a wide range of approaches and styles with completely different textures that express wonderfully unique stories, and I can't wait for audiences to get a chance to experience this preview for themselves.” 

The 2023 Original Vision workshops feature the work of five award-winning artists including composers, folk musicians, playwrights and electronic musicians grouped into three teams. Each team presents a scene where a new, mythic world is presented through opera. The scenes are brought to life by professional opera and music theater singers from around Los Angeles and accompanied by the critically acclaimed instrumental ensemble, Brightwork newmusic. All three pieces are directed by O-Lan Jones, with music direction by Fahad Siadat.

Ransom Place by Daniel Hass and Jameel Martin

In a neighborhood marked for demolition, two companions, Mr. K and Gerald, hold an abandoned building hostage. An invisible force, the Stagehand, perceived only by Mr. K, picks apart what's left of the place. A ghost of the past barges in: a delirious, zombie-like woman, recounting her sad tale to no-one in particular. In this eerie landscape, Mr. K and Gerald struggle to shed their illusions and face the unsettling reality of their situation.

The Joining by Aiden Feltkamp and Issac Io Schankler

The Joining tells the story of two cultures, one who lives on the surface and another that lives below it, interacting for the first time in recorded history. The workshop scene features Frem, the Undergrounder sent to deal with the Overlanders, demonstrating their personal golem. The golem are automaton-like inventions who commonly serve as assistants in the Underground. During Frem's presentation to stakeholders in a major Overland company, the new prototype golem begins to show more individuality than any of them expected.

Fay at Begonia by Maesa Pullman

Wayward and out of work, Fay wanders the gardens of Begonia, a utopian colony built into the hills by a group of mystic philosophers. She is swallowed by the mind-bending clutches of the colony, especially the group's leader, Anne. When Begonia begins to crumble, Anne's ego flares and the underbelly of truth rises up. In a fit of disillusionment, by the light of a full moon, Fay runs away from Begonia through winding canyon roads. She comes to a fruit orchard where she eats a glowing peach, begins to sing, and encounters something divine.

Featured singers include Molly Pease, Angelica Rowell, Paul Chwe Minchul An, and Kion Heidari.

Immediately following the workshops, guests are invited to stay for a reception featuring singer-songwriter Maesa Pullman. Tickets to the event are $30 and include both the performance and the reception, or tickets for either session can be purchased individually for $15. To purchase tickets and learn more, please visit https://www.overtoneindustries.org/original_vision_leveling 

Original Vision Leveling is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

History of Original Vision

The 2023 workshop presentations are the third iteration of Overtone Industries' Original Vision program. The program was created to mentor and support composers and librettists in creating opera theater works that focus on new original stories of mythic scopes. Several artists who have participated in Original Vision continue working on the productions workshopped through the program and have gone on to find great success premiering additional productions of their own. Previous Original Vision scenes include: 

• (2022) Marrow, by Gillian Rae Perry and Socks Whitmore

• (2022) Palo Seco, By Tim Holt and Jessica Figeroa

• (2022) Insult by John Ballinger

• (2021) Untitled Aunt Jemima Opera, by Jason Barabba and June Caryl

• (2021) Hysteria, by Molly Pease and Divya Maus

• (2021) Azure's Hands, by Livia Reiner and Lily Min Ren

About the 2023 Original Vision Artists

Aiden K. Feltkamp (they/he) began their artistic life at the age of 5 playing a quarter-size cello and now they're "upending preconceptions about voice and gender" (New York Times) as a trans nonbinary writer and producer. Most recently, they wrote an opera about Emily Dickinson's queerness that premiered at her historical home (Emily & Sue), and published articles in PBS's American Masters series and Opera America Magazine. In 2021, they curated New Music Shelf's award-winning New Music Anthology for Trans & Nonbinary Voices, Vol. 1. They live in Jersey City with their partner and their pets, both organic and robotic. https://www.aidenfeltkamp.com/

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Hass has performed across Canada, the United States, Europe, Israel, and Jamaica. His compositions have been commissioned by the Glenn Gould Foundation, the Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra, Random Access Music, and Tribeca New Music, and he has received awards and grants from the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation, FACTOR Canada, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Daniel often performs with modern jazz ensembles such as Orlando Furioso (winner of the 2023 German Jazz awards) and Phillip Golub's Abiding Memory Quintet, and contemporary classical ensemble the Renaissance Quartet. He received a Master's degree from Juilliard in 2021. Danielhass.ca

Writer and violist Jameel Martin has performed for audiences in Austria, China, Canada, Germany, Israel, and across the United States. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he founded an underground literary and arts magazine. His first play, Ransom Place, premiered at the Onyx Theater Festival of Indianapolis in the fall of 2021 and will be published in A Common Well Journal this fall. He wrote, directed, and produced the Perlman Music Program's summer musical in 2022 and 2023, and his queer operatic adaptation of Janacek's song cycle Diary of One who Disappeared premieres in Valdres, Norway this August. He is pursuing a Creative Writing MFA at Brooklyn College. renaissancestringquartet.com/jameel  

Maesa Pullman is a singer-songwriter/music-maker/multi-disciplinary creator-performer based in Los Angeles, California. Maesa's original Americana/folk music can be found on all streaming platforms, including her debut full length album, Death of the Machine (Electrosound, 2020). Maesa has a country-funk family band, the Whole Damn Fam, writes and sings for Hans Petter Gundersen's Norway-based band The Last Hurrah!! and founded and leads The Band of Singers (project of Dignity of Man at the Birdhouse nonprofit 501c3), a non-traditional, interdisciplinary community choir. She has experience composing for film, dance, and theater across a wide range of genres. Maesa and frequent composing partner, Dalal Bruchmann, create dreamy scores for films like Highway One and Under the Lantern Lit Sky and are currently in the midst of several new projects. Maesa-pullman.squarespace.com

Isaac Io Schankler (they/them) is a composer, accordionist, and electronic musician based in the Los Angeles area. Their music has been described as "beautiful, algorithmic, organic, dystopian" (I Care If You Listen) and “remarkable listening” (Sequenza21). They have collaborated with a variety of ensembles, including C3LA, SPLICE Ensemble, Autoduplicity, Nouveau Classical Project, the Ray-Kallay Duo, Friction Quartet, and the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet. Additionally, Schankler has written music for acclaimed video games like Ladykiller in a Bind and Depression Quest. Schankler is artistic director of concert series People Inside Electronics, and Associate Professor of Music at Cal Poly Pomona. http://isaacschankler.com/

Overtone Industries is a genre-bending opera-theater company, founded by composer, actress and theater visionary O-Lan Jones, that develops and presents original stories in a collaborative environment and cultivates opportunities for artists with an authentic voice to develop new works. For more information, visit www.OvertoneIndustries.org

O-Lan Jones is an award-winning composer, sound designer, writer, actress and theater visionary who has been experimenting in the performing arts her entire life. She founded Overtone Industries in 1980 to develop and produce new and original opera-theater works. Her early achievements forged the path for modern, experimental opera companies to continue challenging the antiquated perceptions of the art form. As founder and Artistic Director of Overtone, she leads the vision for new works and is focused on fostering a collaborative environment where she and other artists work together to give voice to their authentic stories. She is dedicated to mentoring and supporting fellow creatives, who also refuse to be confined to boundaries, through Overtone's Original Vision Project.

About Fahad Siadat

Fahad Siadat, Executive Director of Overtone Industries, is a community organizer, arts entrepreneur, and administrator. He is the founder of C3LA: The Contemporary Choral Collective of Los Angeles, a board member of C4 in New York, and the founder of See-A-Dot Music Publishing, Inc., a company devoted to the advocacy of new choral works and emerging composers. He has a reputation as a dynamic and engaging speaker and has received featured interviews in over a dozen podcasts, print magazines, and online publications. Fahad regularly writes articles for NewMusicBox and the Choral Journal and has presented on various topics at the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America,  the NY Choral Consortium, and Classical: NEXT. He is also a composer, performer, and conductor of music for the voice. For information about his creative work, please visit www.fahadsiadat.com

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