First presentation plays for one show only!
The Mosesian Center for the Arts and Guerilla Opera present an experimental first-presentation of Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible, by composer Elisabet Curbelo and inspired by the poetry of Federico García Lorca.
Plays for one show only!
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Sunday, September 10, 2023, 2:00PM
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The Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts
321 Arsenal StreetWatertown, MA, 02472
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TICKETS ARE PAY WHAT YOU WILL
STANDARD ADMISSION ($35) - Our General Admission Ticket Price
COMMUNITY PARTNER ($55) - Our General Admission Ticket Price, plus a little extra to help support a community member's access
BUDGET FRIENDLY ($15) - If your budget is feeling tight this month, you are welcome to select this price
PAY WHAT YOU WILL - Make a donation in ANY amount to attend (available in person or by phone at 617-923-0100 during Box Office hours, Tue-Fri, 12:00-7:00 PM)
Guerilla Opera and Mosesian Arts believe that the foundation of an equitable and inclusive theatre requires making our shows accessible to all. We are committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to see our shows is able to, which is why admission prices for this event are "Pay What You Will". We encourage our audience members to purchase tickets at a level comfortable for them.
Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible by Elisabet Curbelo and in collaboration with the Urban Jazz Dance Company is a work in progress. When you purchase admission to this presentation, you are contributing to the development of this work over time, which, in turn, enables us to create a rich and poignant final production.
Ticket revenue alone doesn’t begin to cover what it costs to produce our shows, and certainly not to develop a show over time. Ticket sales alone will never help us reach our budget goals, but we believe that access to the arts is a foundational human right and the ability to engage in a new work as it’s being created should be accessible to all who are inspired by it.
We encourage you to select any tier that allows you to attend, and ALL are welcome to select any tier that allows access to others.
Guerilla Opera is not providing Box Office support for this event. For all box office/performing venue questions and assistance, please contact Mosesian Arts directly at tickets@mosesianarts.org or 617-923-0100.
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Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible by composer Elisabet Curbelo and in collaboration with the Urban Jazz Dance Company, is a surrealist experience. Visual and auditory experiences are connected through the use of wearable motion-sensor controllers and features American (ASL) and Spanish (LSE) Sign Language.
This profound new work of interdisciplinary opera theater centers the artists from the deaf community as the main narrative voice through ASL, LSE, movement, and technology.
Inspired by poems by Federico García Lorca, “Ululations” is a 4-part work for soprano, percussion, piano and 3-5 dancers that investigates themes of isolation, oppression, communication, community, and transcendence.
Sign language is traditionally used as a medium to translate language and sounds to a non-hearing audience, “Ululations” breaks this tradition by uniquely centering the use of ASL/LSE as the driving force of the opera. The singer is not the only performer carrying the narrative of the work through the performance of text. All the musicians in the ensemble perform using ASL/LSE while simultaneously performing their respective instruments, in addition to the ASL-fluent dancers.
The performances will include sign language and sign language interpretation and is approximately 40min in duration. The theater is ADA Accessible.
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Mike Williams as The Silent Boy (percussion & ensemble director)
Zahna Simon as The Guiding Light (lead deaf dancer/actor)
Yoko Hagino as The Shadow (piano)
Angela Yam as The Queen of Crickets (soprano)
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Elisabet Curbelo, composer
Antoine Hunter, Lead Deaf Choreographer
Elbert “EJ” Joseph, Director of Artistic Sign Language
Daniel B Chapman, Projections Designer, Co-Lighting Designer, Motion Sensor Technology
Keithlyn B Parkman, Production Manager/Co-Lighting Design
Aliana de la Guardia, Artistic Director
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Jess Meyer - Jess is honored to interpret for the incredible Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible team! Jess is currently pursuing their certification in American Sign Language Interpreting. Jess has a BFA in Theatre and Performance with a minor in Deaf Studies from Emerson College and an ASL Interpreter Certificate from Northern Essex. Jess would like to send a huge thank you to their support system and the entire Ululations team!
Julia Barnes - Julia is a Bronx native who enjoys artistry. She is a 2017 graduate of the Northeastern University interpreting program. Since graduating, she has interpreted several theatrical productions including “Caroline or Change” , “The Bluest Eye,” “Moby Dick,” “SIX the Musical,” and “Life of Pi". She is a former staff interpreter at Advocates in Framingham, and now is a full-time freelance interpreter who does various types of community work.
JO Welch - A first Generation American who grew up in the marginalized space between Latina and American cultures and is influenced by her 30-year commitment to the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing communities. JO is the founder of askJO.org where you can learn about her as an Author, Speaker and The Will Fairy.
Kellie Hickey
Krystal Chung
ARTIST & PRODUCTION BIOS
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Daniel B Chapman is a member of United Scenic Artists (Lighting Design and Projection Design) and in addition to design he has worked extensively as a production manager and technical director. He is the author of Motion (http://cue.lighting) and Light Assistant (http://lightassistant.com).
He received his MFA in Lighting Design from Carnegie Mellon and his BA from The University of New Mexico. He has taught previously at Western Illinois University and Berea College.
His recent design credits include:
Opera Santa Barbara for Madama Butterfly. New York: On the Verge, Restoration Comedy, Construction of the Human Heart, (The Acting Company) Of Mice and Men, Damascus; Summer Theater of New Canaan: West Side Story, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Twelfth Night; Guerilla Opera: Beowulf, Troubled Water, Pedr Solis, No Exit; Opera Southwest: Frida, Pelléas et Mélisande, L’inganno felice, Ali Baba, Norma, Bless Me Ultima, Guillaume Tell, Pagliacci, Tancredi, Il Turco in Italia, Aida, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni, Il barbiere di Siviglia; Ash Lawn Opera: Susannah; Chicago: Cymbeline, Lifeboat, The Snow Queen; New Mexico Ballet: Alice in Wonderland, Phantom of the Opera, Aladdin, and The Wizard of Oz.
Upcoming shows are: Carmen (Opera Santa Barbara), Bluebeard's Castle (Opera Southwest), and Zorro (Opera Santa Barbara).
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Elisabet Curbelo is a composer and performer from the Canary Islands. She holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition from UC San Diego under the mentorship of Roger Reynolds. Throughout her career, Elisabet’s work and dedication have been valued by diverse institutions, as she has been awarded numerous grants, prizes, and commissions. Her pieces have been performed in Spain, Turkey, the USA, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Her research focuses on creating interdisciplinary collaborative performance and installation work, the use of sensors to control electronics with movement, and extended vocal techniques based on her study of West Asian music and culture.
Curbelo is an Assistant Professor of Electroacoustic Composition and Music Theory at the University of Utah. She is the founder and director of the University of Utah Electroacoustic Ensemble and the co-founder of Artivism4Earth. Learn more at elisabetcurbelo.com.
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Yoko Hagino was born and raised in Japan. As a child, she performed her own compositions, which took her to Europe and the U.S. Ms. Hagino won Top Prizes in various competitions, such as in the All Japan Mozart Competition and in the Steinway Society Piano Competition.
She received her Bachelor's Degree and her Master's Degree with honors from Tokyo National University. She earned an Artist Diploma from the Longy School of Music, where she studied with Victor Rosenbaum, and Performance Diploma at Boston Conservatory, where she was a student of Michael Lewin. She also studied with Seymour Lipkin privately. She performed at Jordan Hall in Boston, William Kapell Music Festival, at Steinway and Sons in Kamen, Germany, appeared live on Suisse Romande Radio in Switzerland. As a devoted chamber musician and a passionate performer of contemporary music, she has performed in concerts, such as Fromm Players at Harvard, The Boston Conservatory New Music Festival, Goethe Institute Boston, Brandies University New Music Festival, and Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice at the New England Conservatory. She often collaborates with a large number of living composers, and has premiered hundreds of their works.
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Oakland native, Antoine Hunter aka Purple Fire Crow is an award-winning internationally known African-American, Indigenous, Deaf, Disabled, choreographer, dancer, actor, instructor, speaker, producer and Deaf advocate. He creates opportunities for Disabled, Deaf and hearing artists, produces Deaf-friendly events, and founded the Urban Jazz Dance Company in 2007 and Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival in 2013. Awards include the 2023 USA Artist Fellowship, 2022 Disability Futures Fellowship, 2021 Dance Teacher Award, 2019 National Dance/USA fellowship recognized by the Mayor of Oakland, 2018 inaugural Jeanette Lomujo Bremond Humanity Arts Award and 2017 Isadora Duncan (Izzie) for BAIDDF.
Hunter’s work has been performed globally and he has lectured across the U.S. including at Kennedy Center’s VSA, Harvard and Duke University, and the National Assembly of State Arts as an ambassador for social change. Hunter utilizes his company’s artistic talents to engage with audiences, empower Deaf and disabled communities, and advocate for human rights and access, working to end discrimination and prejudice.
His shoe company DropLabs and Susan Paley released an innovative haptic product to help people feel music. Hunter curated 2021 Bay Area Deaf Arts at SOMArts, is a 2021 YBCA 100 honoree, is on the production team of Signing Animation actively working on inclusive films and serves on the boards of Dance/USA, BABDA, Museum of Dance and councils for CalArts Alumnx and Intrinsic Arts.
In response to Covid-19 in July 2020, Hunter founded #DeafWoke, an online talk show that amplifies BIPOC Deaf and Disabled stories as a force for cultural change. Learn more at realurbanjazzdance.com.
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Elbert Joseph, known as EJ, is a deaf actor, theatre interpreter, activist/advocate, Director of Artistic Sign Language and Director, who is fluent in both American Sign Language and spoken English. EJ started acting when he was thirteen and his passion turned into a career. He received professional theatrical training at the Boston Arts Academy and has worked with several award-winning theaters in the Boston area including American Repertory Theater, Huntington Theatre, and Wheelock Family Theatre. EJ is funny, good hearted, smart and passionate. He dreams of transforming lives and inspiring the world through his craft. EJ believes success is found in collaboration, desire for personal growth and the constant pursuit of new opportunities. He has been nominated by independent reviewers, Elliot Norton awards, and received a special recognition award from the IRNEs. EJ is a recipient of the ACI/Ripple award, the 2021 award for unsettling dramaturgy, an award from D-30 Disability impact list in 2022, and was recognized as one of Artery’s 25 Artists Of Color transforming the cultural landscape.
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Keithlyn B Parkman (Lighting Designer & Associate Producer) graduated from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts with a BFA in Lighting Design. 10 years ago, during her time at BU, she stumbled across this zany little opera family, and the rest is history. When not running around Boston with Guerilla Opera, Parkman shares her passion for theater making by mentoring young theater artists at various high schools in her hometown of NYC. Recent Guerilla credits include SALT, Rumpelstiltskin and The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace & Babbage. Upcoming projects include RENT (The Beacon School) and Bye, Bye Birdie (Berkeley Carroll).
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A San Francisco native and Deaf from birth, Ms Zahna is honored Changemaker of the year 2018 for San Francisco Live Oak School where she is a former alumni. She is a professional dancer, chemist, avid health nutritionist, researcher and Deaf advocate. Ms Simon attended UCI double majoring in Chemistry and Dance, working with fellow peers, graduate students and distinguished faculty such as Lisa Naugle, David Allan and Donald McKayle. She is also a former chemist by day at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and dancer by night at various Dance companies in San Diego including being featured in KPBS TV and Radio special "Deaf Dancer Performs in Trolley Dances." Ms Zahna is currently the Assistant Director for both Urban Jazz Dance Company and the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival under Antoine Hunter, Founder and Director and a full time office manager at a Professional Fiduciary Office. She has been featured in Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine and Ikouii Creative’s Book, IN THE STUDIO, published on Stance on Dance and was a Deaf Editor for Sins Invalid Disability Justice Primer. She has also performed with Kim Epifano, San Francisco Trolley Dances, Alameda Island City Waterways, Man Dance Company and Abilities Dance Boston. She has been dancing with Urban Jazz Dance Company since 2014.
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Hailed by The Boston Globe as “one of the city’s best percussionists,” Mike Williams is an advocate for contemporary music, a member of the new music sinfonietta Sound Icon, the Calithumpian Consort, and is a co-founding artist of Guerilla Opera as well as former co-artistic director, with whom he has commissioned and premiered many new chamber operas since 2007. Williams has worked directly with many of the leading composers of our time including Pierluigi Billone, Philippe Leroux, Salvatore Sciarrino, Gunther Schuller, and Roger Reynolds.
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Praised for her “huge, clear voice,” Angela Yam has sung with the Santa Fe Opera, New York City Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Baroque, Chautauqua Opera, and Opera Saratoga. This season, Yam joins Boston Lyric Opera as an Emerging Artist, and makes her company debuts with Chautauqua Opera, Opera Parallèle, Guerilla Opera, and Cambridge Chamber Ensemble. Yam’s debut with Boston Baroque as Diana in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride was hailed as “radiant” by the Boston Globe. She premiered Jones’ & Tinley’s ICELAND as the Bird/Heaven, where she was described as “stellar…a Puccini-esque soprano with incredible highs.” She composed for and directed Nightingale Vocal Ensemble’s award-winning choral opera ADRIFT (2023).
SUPPORT AND AWARDS
The development of Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible has been supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, Amphion Foundation, Foley Hoag Foundation, and the Lincoln and Therese Filene Foundation, with support from Mosesian Arts, and by and by and donors like you. View current donors to Guerilla Opera.
