Performances
September 12-14
*There are two performances each evening*
Performance #1: 6:00 - 8:15 PM
Reception - 6:00 - 6:45 PM
Walk/Trolley to the Catacombs - 6:45 - 7:15 PM
Show - 7:15 - 8:15 PM
Performance #2: 7:30 - 9:45 PM
Reception - 7:30 - 8:15 PM
Walk/Trolley to the Catacombs - 8:15 - 8:45 PM
Show - 8:45- 945 PM
Each performance includes a 45-minutes long spirits tasting, followed by a twilight walk through the cemetery to the Catacombs.
“Sly and sweet, wistful and winsome and altogether lovable... Gelsey Bell’s wonderful, uncategorizable guide to what might unfold on Earth in the millions and billions of years after human history”
– The New York Times
mɔɹnɪŋ (the phonetic spelling for the word "morning" as well as the word "mourning") is an operatic masterpiece by singer and composer Gelsey Bell that begins just after humanity has disappeared from the Earth, and traces the weeks, months, years, and millennia that follow. What emerges is a journey through time that is simultaneously whimsical, fantastical, playful and profound, offering a poignant reminder of what it means to be human – despite taking place entirely after our species has vanished from the planet. This specially adapted, abridged telling of this critically acclaimed opera was created just for the Catacombs.
Nothing lasts forever, but let the magnificent Gelsey Bell welcome you to the Catacombs with her merry band of virtuoso music-makers, as they spin us a tale that takes us to the heart of what truly matters in this life.
Gelsey Bell - (ARI; Composer, Librettist) is a Brooklyn-based songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and scholar. She is a core member of thingNY, Varispeed, and the Chutneys. Her recent works include Cairns, Mouthful, and the albums mɔɹnɪŋ, Skylighght, and Heads Together. Performance highlights include works by Dave Malloy, Robert Ashley, Darius Jones, and Kate Soper. www.gelseybell.com
Aviva Jaye (KAI) is a multi-disciplinary artist & performer primarily creating music, wielding voice, keys, harp, guitar & ukulele. She often combines acoustic & electronicelements to unlock a portal for listeners to venture, exploring the dimensions of empathy, self-awareness, social justice & Afrofuturism.
Brian McCorkle (MAG) is a composer and performer who was part of mɔɹnɪŋ 's initial workshops at HERE. McCorkle was co-Director of Panoply Performance Laboratory for 11 years and is a founding member of Varispeed Collective. A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, these days McCorkle is usually found performing free improv with friends and rock climbing.
Mia Pak (EL) is a performer, singer-songwriter, and passionate climate advocate based in Brooklyn. Recent credits include Three Houses (Signature Theatre), Suffs (The Public Theater), Your Own Personal Exegesis (LCT3), and In The Green (LCT3). She releases music under the name “miamiamia” and will be releasing a full album this fall.
Paul Pinto (SO) is a composer, performer, opera-sermonizer, and multi-disciplinary dabbler who makes music, new media, micro-theatres and durational performance by himself, as well as with his friends, including thingNY and Varispeed (both with Gelsey Bell!). Upcoming: Indra’s Net, Mano a Mano, River Songs, The Approach Ep. 4-6, and The All-Father. pfpinto.com
Staging by Gelsey Bell
With consultation by Tara Ahmadinejad
Lighting consultation by Masha Tsimring
1. Mourning
2. Human Home excerpt (present day to 30 years)
3. A Sea of Kudzu (first hundred years)
4. Fires (first hundred years)
5. Bristlecone Pines (5,000 years)
6. Humans
7. Explosion (1 million years)
8. Blooklungs excerpt (1 million-7 million years)
9. Nothing Lasts Forever (42 million-250 million years)
10. With Time (650 million years-1.6 billion years)
11. Morning