Christine McClintock: Opera and Theater

Opera and Theater

Re:

	I. On the Way Home
	II. At Home
	III. On the Way to Work
	IV. At Work
	V. On the Way Home (Conclusion)

Re: was commissioned by the Juventas! new music ensemble.

Synopsis

Married couple, Emily and John have both been independently and anonymously communicating with Lisa through a series of emails. Emily, however, believes Lisa to be a man named Michael. In the same turn, John believes Lisa to be a woman named Rene. Emily is suspicious that John is having an affair, and confides this to “Michael.” Meanwhile, John complains to “Rene” about his disdain for his job, and in particular his boss. Unbeknownst to either John or Lisa, she is actually his boss. After an unseen argument, Lisa looks to her mysterious friends for comfort and encouragement. John relays his “triumph” over his boss, and Lisa counters with her remorse over her decision to terminate her employee the following day. At the same time, Emily conveys her decision to leave her husband. The characters speak directly to each other only in the final scene immediately preceding a harsh emergency stop on the train. They continue to speak in metaphors, but now use those related to them by the other characters in a futile attempt to connect at a deeper level.

Libretti from Selected Samples

III. On the Way to Work

EMILY: And on it goes, And ev'ryday, The distance grows, Eating away, What was you and I.

LISA: I can't hear myself think. It's only five to nine and I need a drink.

JOHN: How much longer 'til we get there, I should have called in sick to work. Would I waste all my time online there, If my boss weren't such a jerk?

EMILY: And on it goes, And we pretend, A light still glows, There at the end, You give what you get.

JOHN: Get another cup of coffee, My only respite from the rat race. Yet another cup of coffee, 'Til stronger drugs are legal in the workplace.

IV. At Work

LISA: I've been asleep now for days, I've been asleep now, for maybe weeks, Just awaking from a long slumber, I feel the blush back on my cheeks.

JOHN: The office has a hum, It's always been there, but right now it sounds like songs, Sung just for me, and it's the sound of victory, And I thank you constantly, For the effect you've had on me.

V. On the Way Home

*Note the sample clip begins immediately following the emergency train stop.*

EMILY: Listen how, it's all so quiet now, Set in a stationary undertow, a mile below the urban ocean.

JOHN: Trains stopped on a track, Only moving forward and back.

LISA: Look at how, in all the windows now, The tunnel walls that define our connection, superimpose our reflections.

JOHN: Deviating from the course it stays, Waking after weeks and days.

EMILY: Listen how we have no words, Not silent but unheard.

Release the Kraken!

Teddy Ruxpin Ruins the End of Citizen Cane

Release the Kraken! is a comic theater mash-up of the classic films Clash of the Titans and Clerks. Most characters paralleled those of either movies, including a Teddy Ruxpin in place of Bubo the metal owl from Clash of the Titans. Teddy's "speech" is only understood by the protagonist, Percy. Aiming to have his language sound as close to the original owl and C3PO, the sample clip is a cue in which Mr. Ruxpin spoils the ending of the film Citizen Cane.

Speed the Plow

A Reading from the Book of Radiation

This extremely dramatic sound cue was created for strategic effect during a recent local production David Mamet's Speed the Plow.

The American Dream

	I. Preface
	II. Farm Life Ain't So Bad
	III. The State of the Union
	IV. Eden Disbursed
	V. The Proposition
	VI. The Glory of the Poppy
	VII. The Trouble with Heroin
	VIII. Our People Need a Cure
	IX. Exposition
	X. Revolution Solution
	XI. Conclusion

The American Dream is comprised of a series of eleven sections, both instrumental and SATB chorus, with a narration linking all of the sections.

Synopsis

Growing economic burdens have strained the financial health of the seaboard cities. Compounding these issues are mounting difficulties in bringing large quantities of food into these regions from the meager yield of the degraded heartland soil. The protagonists of the story, THE HUSBAND and WIFE decide to abandon the troubles of the urban world and make a pilgrimage to the countryside in order to become subsistence farmers.

The couple has been living an uncomplicated life when the troubles of their former existence seep into the new. The government imposes restrictions on the amount of land a household may possess, based on per capita figures. THE HUSBAND and WIFE have a percentage of their land seized and concurrently discover that THE WIFE is pregnant.

Again facing economic calamity, the couple is approached by a group of FARMERS with a business proposition. They would like to rent some land for poppy production in order to eventually manufacture heroin to put on the black market. After some moral deliberation, the family agrees. Shortly thereafter, the GOVERNMENT approaches the family with a similar proposal. Influenced by greed and desperation, they agree to work with the government, and renege on their contract with the farmers.

The FARMERS soon realize that their plan has backfired, as many in their own camps have become drug addicted. The GOVERNMENT is discovered and exposed as conspirators in a moderate socioeconomic cleansing campaign. All seek resolution.

Libretti from Selected Samples

III. The State of the Union

A people united cannot be divided.

Standing united we're bound to fight this,

If we stand united, we're bound to fight this.

The time has come for more than just prayers,

Our claim to this is equal to theirs.

Our blood and hands in their control,

Our blood and hands will take their toll.

A people united cannot be divided.

Standing united we're bound to fight this,

If we stand united, we're bound to fight this,

VII. The Trouble with Heroin

Lay me down in a field of poppy,

Lay me down in a field of stone.

Lay me down in a field of ashes,

Leave me stand on a shore all alone,

The secret therein,

ALL pales in comparison,

Pales in comparison.

The danger therein,

ALL pales in comparison.

VII. Our People Need a Cure

I believe in disease,

I believe that these are not our lies,

I do not revel in the smell of ruin,

But take comfort in its promise of evolution.

Legislature speaks, to our minuscule classes,

Who's crying out to our critical masses,

The effects, not the cause are the targets of war,

Our hearts are wailing, "Our people need a cure!"

The motives are suspicious, ambitious, and vicious,

And a voice cries out, "They're bleeding us, they're bleeding us!"

Your maxim is fallacy, perverted mythology,

Our daily lives are sanitized, a mirage for our malleable minds.

World Music

	Cue R Scene Change
	Cue U Underscore
	Cue Hh Scene Change

The award-winning play, World Music, relates the experience of one man during the Rwadan genocide. The play is predominately told in flashbacks. The sound design attaches an instrument with a location setting; for example, scenes in the Brussels' apartment have a motif played on the clarinet. The transitions and scene changes are marked by a blending of instrumentation and motives. Each of the instrumentalists was recorded separately before the creation of the sound cues. The resulting effect highlights the asynchronous quality of memory.