Little Bird, Broken Wing, Mozart’s Dead Starling
Premiered on March 18, 2023 at Beckett Rosset’s underground salon in the West Village, NYC.
Inspired by daily writings and poems about a bird returning to the earth in her garden, coupled with a love of Mozart's poem about the death of his pet Starling, Ellen presents this story via 19th c balletic pantomime in front of 20ft painted backdrops and a costume she hand-created. The presentation is set to reworkings of Mozart's fragmented transcriptions left behind after his death, and original birdsong using only letters from Ellen's name. —
This piece is also derived from Ellen’s extensive research into Mozart’s life, having read all of Mozart’s (and his father’s) published letters, notes on scores and poems throughout the pandemic. Additional research was made possible by the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts rare books archives.
Written Poem (Libretto) archival ink on paper / Backdrop 20ft x 16ft, acrylic on unbleached muslin / Poster watercolor and graphite on paper , 24” x 18” / Costume Hand altered liner leotard with hand sewn trimming made of mixed natural feathers, translucent packing tape, brown, black, peach and gold silk. Custom Freed of London pointe shoes hand painted yellow. / Choreography by Ellen Frances (using shadow puppetry and pantomime) / Musical composition created by Ellen Frances in collaboration with other composers (includes excerpts of Mozart fragments), performed live on piano
Black and white performance photos courtesy of Matt Street, New York Times photo credit: OK McCausland, Ellen getting ready at home photographed by Matt Jones
Poetry of Gesture
This performance art project is derived from Ellen Frances’s decades-long studio practices, coupled with extensive research into multifaceted theatrical productions from antiquity to the post-war eras. Each presentation is a written poem, told to the audience using pantomime in front of large-scale painted backdrops. This project has appeared in the Brooklyn Rail and the New York Times. It was featured at VOLTA International Art Fair, Spring 2023.
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