Music
Lightning at our feet
Michael Gordon / Ridge Theater
In writing rich with wonder and fierce with longing, Emily
Dickinson created a new American landscape of the interior,
describing a world that finds exhilarating new life in
Lightning at our feet, a new song cycle by composer
Michael Gordon and Ridge Theater (Decasia, 2001). Bob
McGrath directs and Daniel Zippi provides dramaturgy in this
evocative, multimedia production steeped in the spirit of one of
America's most visionary artists.
Using voice, amplified strings, piano, electronics, and
percussion, four women-Jennifer Charles, Leah Coloff, Courtney
Orlando, and Bora Yoon-reveal the poet's humanity in hard-driving
songs about immortality and love. As haunting video projections by
Bill Morrison and Laurie Olinder flicker in the background like
half-retrieved memories, Gordon's hypnotic songs roll on, nudging
us ever closer to the essence of Dickinson's incomparable
poems.
Music composed by Michael Gordon
From the writing of Emily Dickinson
Films by Bill Morrison
Projections by Laurie Olinder
Dramaturgy by Daniel Zippi
Directed by Bob McGrath
With Jennifer Charles (voice), Leah Coloff (cello, voice),
Courtney Orlando (piano, violin, voice), Bora Yoon (guitar, viola,
percussion, electronics, voice)
Music Direction by Ted Hearne
Set Design by Jim Findlay
Costume Design by Ruth Pongstaphone
Lighting Design by John Ambrosone
Sound Design by Jamie McElhinney
Musical arrangements by Michael Gordon in collaboration with
Jennifer Charles, Leah Coloff, Ted Hearne, Courtney Orlando, &
Bora Yoon
Commissioned by Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at the
University of Houston, and BAM for the 2008 Next Wave Festival.