A Thousand Twangling Instruments
Premiered at The Hole Gallery Nov 01, 2023, NYC
My movement monologue for A Thousand Twangling Instruments, at The Hole, is a deconstructed re-shaping of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, W.H. Auden’s epic poem The Sea and the Mirror, and myths surrounding ancient Greco-Roman storm goddesses. Together, these texts reinforce scholarly analysis of The Tempest as a tale that centers on the ego and the id as two halves of a whole. -- Often at existential odds with one another, it is only through unification that the free spirit might emerge from the storm.
Hidden within Auden’s poem inspired by The Tempest is a reference to the character Hermione from Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale. As an homage to this reference, the piece begins with a prologue inspired by Hermione’s statue. — After the prologue, a curated and lightly re-contextualized monologue of Auden and Shakespeare’s texts evolves into a movement interpretation of Roman Tempestas and the Oceanid Nymphs of Greek Mythology.
The concept for sound centers on the line “a thousand twangling instruments would hum about mine ear…” from the tempest. For the sound design storm sound were created using found objects and home-made “instruments” amplified through live looping.
Direction, concept, research, monologue construction, music curation, lighting, choreography, costume and performance: Ellen Frances
Elizabethan costume: created from old white cotton bedding, tulle, vintage ivory silk from Beckett’s basement and a hand altered bodice. Cotton string. Shoes: black velvet flats with added double-faced black satin wired ribbon. Hair piece: synthetic hair extensions with gold woven ribbon. Nymph costume: Capezio nude full-body stocking. Hair piece: torn vintage powder blue silk strands
Music: Upright bass and experimental strings: Kyle Motl / Experimental sound design and electric guitar: Christian Kail
Additional research for this piece was made possible by the NYPL Schwartzman Library rare books collection
