from

 

a masque in seven inventions

 

by Connie Beckley


 
from: a masque in seven inventions is a music theater work about reinvention as told by an old inventor and his muse who no longer see eye to eye. Connie Beckley has written the texts, composed the original music, designed the evolving set, and will perform in the work with actor Frederick Neumann and four instrumentalists at the HERE Arts Center. 

 

from is a dialogue that is both ruminating and lyrical- a theme and variations, in sound and images, on the nature of “reconsideration.”

from makes reference to the 17th Century stylized masque technique. It is an allegorical Lost and Found story about imagination under duress and an experiment in weaving a tale with diverse threads: spoken and sung words, lyrical but eerie theremin melodies, strings of high-tech lighting, and some good old-fashioned rope. The performers and audience will co-habit the non-proscenium space in this hypothetical tale about losing and repossessing one’s own imagination along with one’s sense of humor.

Beckley, a Guggenheim Fellow, has long worked in the arenas of performance art, visual arts and music.  from sets her in a major new direction by creating a work that is more theatrical in nature. With the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) acting as fiscal sponsor for the project, funding is provided by Jerome Foundation, NYFA and the Norman and Rosita Winston Foundation.

 

Synopsis and Characters 

 

Photo by Connie Beckley

 

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