A New Music Theater Work About Making Music
Conceived and composed by PAUL DRESHER
Performed by ZEITGEIST with PAUL DRESHER
Direction and text by RINDE ECKERT
SOUND STAGE is an extraordinary new work which explores the means and meaning of music making literally from the ground up...way up, in fact. A unique world is created, combining a set built entirely of huge invented musical instruments, traditional instrumental virtuosity, deadpan physical humor, vivid lighting design, and a spare text filled with sly wit and realscience. The work playfully explores the physics of sound and the mystery of music's emotional power in our lives.
Leading this exploration, Dresher's score ranges widely, from passages of jaunting lyricism and emotional power through sections of almost indescribably rhythmic intensity, contrasted with the exploration of the sonic potential of everyday objects. Eckert's text provides both a framework for understanding the piece visually and aurally and engages with its poetic intelligence and humor. The score allows the musicians of Zeitgeist to use the full range of their skills as both traditional instrumentalists and improvisers. With Eckert's resourceful and restrained direction, they fluidly inhabit the stage environment with the intention and economy of skilled actors.
The elegant visual impact of the work is immediate upon entering the theater, when one views far upstage the centerpiece of the work, a 17 foot tall rolling A-frame with two 17 foot pendulums swinging silently on either side.
Over the course of the work, this instrument, whose every surface and material produces sound, becomes many things: a childhood home with an attic full of memories; a set of giant harps plucked by the swinging pendulums; a drum set for all five performers, and ultimately a place of collective musical mystery and discovery.
At the end of the 80-minute performance, the audience is welcomed on the stage to explore the instruments on their own or with the assistance of the designers and performers, creating their own music in an imprompty musical playground for both children and adults.
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"Paul Dresher and several ensemble musicians performed Sound Stage in a lecture/demonstration before 350 elementary school students that was educational and fun! ...(It) combined enchanting music and theater. It was also visually exciting...And this was more than an art enrichment opportunity for the students. It was also a finely crafted learning experience." Jonathan Yorba PhD, Yerba Buena Center "Forget the drum circle. Forget the hurdy-gurdy. This beats all. It's a metronome. A really big metronome. Big enough to fit people inside. Enlarged this way, it becomes more than just a timekeeper. It becomes the pulse itself. The music itself. A representation of time itself... Zeitgeist members displayed their exceptional ensemble and improvisational skills for 80 minutes of non-stop performance... works such as this are the future of the arts: a cross-pollination of music, visual art and theater limited only by the imagination." - Meg Ryan, Minneapolis Star Tribune |
(Cross)Cultural Dialogues: David Gonzalez and The Poetic License Band: City of Dreams | Douglas J. Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma produced by Music-Theatre Group | Pamela Z: Gaijin | Abraham Inc. with David Krakauer, Fred Wesley and Socalled | Maya Beiser: Provenance with special guests Jamey Haddad and Bassam Saba
World Music / Jazz: Pablo Ziegler: Trio for New Tango, Tango Meets Jazz with special guest artists | David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness! | Maya Beiser: Provenance with special guests Jamey Haddad and Bassam Saba | David Gonzalez and The Poetic License Band: City of Dreams
New Music: Akoka (Messiaen REMIX): David Krakauer, Matt Haimovitz and friends | Maya Beiser: Almost Human, World to Come | 2 Foot Yard | Anthony de Mare: Missing Peace
Early Music: Lionheart
Contemporary Music Theatre / Multi-Disciplinary: Douglas J. Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma produced by Music-Theatre Group | The Paul Dresher / Steven Schick Project | Pamela Z: Gaijin†, Voci, Metal/Vox/Water | Paul Dresher Ensemble production of The Tyrant with John Duykers
Composers: Paul Dresher | Phil Kline
Classical Music: David Krakauer with the Orion String Quartet | David Krakauer with string orchestra: Osvaldo Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind | Pablo Ziegler: Tango Orchestra Project
Special Projects: Fear and Loathing: The Music of Phil Kline | Phil Kline's John the Revelator: Lionheart with string quartet | Jammin’ Tigers – Tatum and Rzewski: Anthony de Mare & Steven Mayer