FOUR HANDS OF BRIDGE

April 20, 2015 | April 21, 2015

In April 2015 we premiered Four Hands of Bridge, an experimental evening featuring four consecutive performances of Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge. This brief, yet intense opera explores themes of consumerism, marital infidelity, the loss of a loved one, and isolation in modern society. Audience members were encouraged to change seats between iterations, in order to gain additional perspective as the evening progressed. On both nights, the audience’s engagement in the performances increased over the course of the evening. The performances were followed by a guided conversation between audience and performers about the whole experience. What was it like to see the same piece four times? What were you watching for? What was it like to perform the same piece four times for the same audience, knowing that the audience was becoming increasingly familiar with the work with each viewing? How present were the themes in this period piece and how relevant do they feel to us as an audience and to the us as performers? The discussion generated some great insights for both performers and audience members, while raising many new questions about how we view and engage with performance.

Cast and creative team:

Joshua Jeremiah as David
Jeremy Carlisle Parker as Geraldine
Brent Reilly Turner as Bill
Jennifer Panara as Sally

Wei-En Hsu, music direction
Kelvin Chan, stage direction

Alejandro Fajardo, lighting design
Eric Lamp, costume design
Lauren Bridgeford, hair design
Kathryn Cohen, stage management
Daniela Candillari, musical coaching