|
| Deborah
Henson-Conant is
a Grammy-nominated
recording artist,
and the world premiere
electric harpist.
Together with the
CAMAC Harp company,
she developed the
world's first commercially-produced
carbon fibre electric
harp which now carries
her name, the "DHC
Blue-Light." |
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THEATRE
SPECIALS!
DINNER-THEATER:
TWO
great restaurants in town have a special Dinner/Show deal
with the Regent. For $50 you get a reserved seat
and a 3-course meal at either Tryst or Flora restaurant.
Just
look for
the Dinner-Theatre
option when you
buy your
tickets
HOTEL:
For
out-of-towners,
The Regent
has a relationship
with the
great new ALOFT hotel
in Lexington.
Leland
Stein,
Regent
manager
described
the hotel
as: "Ultra-modern,
ultra-European,
tasteful,
fresh
-- you gotta go check it out.
It's
beautiful!"
And
they've offered
the
Regent
a special
price
of
$89/$99
per
night. Here's
how
to
take
advantage
of
this
offer:
Call
the
hotel
directly
at
781-761-1700
and
tell
them
you
want
the
Regent
Theatre
rate.
If
you
have
any
problems,
email
us
and
we'll
try
to
get
it
sorted
out
for
you.
RESTAURANTS,
PARKING & TRANSPORTATION:
For
info
on Parking
&
Transportation:
Click
Here
Visit
the
Event
Page
next
week
and
we'll
try
to
get
you
a
list
of
all
the
really
great
restaurants
within
walking
distance
of
the
theatre!
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OTHER
NEWS:
Upcoming
Shows :
Tacoma
Symphony, McPherson Opera
House in Kansas, Shedd
Center for the Arts in
Oregon - you
can learn more about these
and other dates at my
Tour
page.
We're
working to fill in
some West Coast dates
so if you know a great,
small theater in Oregon
or Northern California, drop
us an email, tell us what you love
about it, why you
think it's the perfect
place for me and
if you have a personal
affiliation.
Studies
& Coaching
Learn
more about long & short
term coaching & studies in performance,
jazz-harp curriculum
or electric harp techniques.
More info here.
Month
in Review...
IGNOBEL
AWARDS CEREMONY: Earlier
this month I shared
the stage (kinda)
with the powerhouse
performer Amanda
Palmer ("Dresden
Dolls") at the 2010
Ignobel Awards at Sanders Theater
in Cambridge. I opened
the show, playing
my spontaneous new
Opus, "The World's
Most "Depressing
Russian Music" (which I invented on the spot
at the request of
the Ignobel
committee). Frankly,
I think I could have
been a lot more histrionic.
But one does what
one can in the moment...
EARLY
MUSIC IN DUISBURG: In
the "now for
something ELSE
completely
different" category,
right after the
Ignobels, I flew
to Germany as special
guest of the hugely
popular Early Music
group L'Arpeggiata for
two nights of spectacular
sold-out concerts
with lutes, cornettos,
harpsichords, theorbos,
countertenors ...
and me! Check
out my favorite
rehearsal video
with one of the
world's greatest
countertenors,
Phillippe
Jaroussky and
the Italian Edith
Piaf, Lucilla
Galeazzi in
my "Hallelujah
Blues"
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Hello,
my friends! This newsletter is
about "Honey, I
Shrunk the Harp!" a brand new piece I'm previewing
at my show Sat. Nov. 6th at the great
old Vaudeville Theatre, The
Regent, in Arlington, MA.
- Click
here to order
tickets right this minute
(I hope you
do!)
- Click
here to join
my street team (aw, come
on, join
the street team!)
- Click
here for the press
release and event info (link
to restaurants, parking, etc.)
- Read
on for more or read it online here.
 I hope
I see you at the show!
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"Honey,
I Shrunk the Harp" is
a 20-minute music-theater piece I
started developing
last summer at performance camp in
Maine.
Er
... yes ... I go to performance camp.
OK, OK ... you could call it a theater
'retreat' - and I go there to work
with other professionals in different
fields like dance and theater, to push
myself into new areas of artistic expression.
So this new piece combines music, theater
and ...gulp ... dance. Well, no - it's
not really dance -- it's stylized physical
movement. OK, dance. Actually -- it's
simply whatever I have to do to make
the music and the story as clear as
possible in every way: with words,
music, movement and physical images.
 |
| Rehearsing
with theater coach Karen
Montanaro. |
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What
I wanted to do with this piece
was to create a
metaphor for my own metamorphosis of
the past two decades from
classical harpist to collaborating
in the invention of a completely new
instrument --the electric harp -- that's
become my signature instrument.
Instead
of just telling the story with words,
my friend Alex Feldman, a physical
comedian,
suggested
I create the experience
as a music-theater piece, to
actually show the
experience of peeling away layers like
a musical onion, digging deep into
styles like an archeologist, and showing
how the
changer is changed through changing
the object of desire. Sound
serious? Well the seriouser I got
about it,
the funnier it became!
It's a
universal experience: the
stages of misconception, exploration
and discomfort it takes to actually
find your way to a true expression
of your authentic voice. (more
at my blog....)
BE
OUR FILM CREW!
This
is a brand new show and
it's very visual, so
bring your cameras and
videos to help us document
it! The only
caveats are: no flash
during the
show, and no big or noisy
cameras that might distract
your
neighbors.
Email
us to let
us know if you'll
be taping or photographing
so we can arrange
a waiver of the theater's
no-photos-or-taping policy
for you.
And
after
the show, let us know
what
kind of footage you
got and we'll figure
out
the best way to get
it, edit it and post
it! And
don't forget to wear
your film director's
beret! |
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If
you join my
fan page on Facebook you'll see
images and brief accounts of "Honey,
I Shrunk the Harp!" as
it develops -- and it will develop
right up until November 6th, when the
audience
at the Regent sees it for the first time.
I really hope YOU'LL be there!!
And
whether you can join me that
night or not, tell your friends,
share the widget on the show
page and stay in touch. Join
me on line. Watch the show develop at
Facebook, Twitter,
and my blog.
I love sharing the projects I'm working
on and I love it when I preview new
material and people come and give
feedback!
 I
LOVE THE REGENT THEATRE!!!
WHAT'S
SO COOL ABOUT IT? Well
... everything! The sound is great,there's
not a bad seat in the house, there's
plenty of free
parking and
great restaurants within steps of
the theater. It's MBTA and handicap
accessible.
There
are also Dinner-Theater Deals,
and a special hotel rate (see
info above left.)
And
I love the stage, and the gilded
columns, and it's history as an
old Vaudeville house. I love that
every time I come back, it's closer
to reclaiming its former glory
as an old Vaudeville house that
was "a rival of the best Boston
playhouses." I love that the seats
are comfortable and I feel like
I can really make contact with
everyone in the audience. I also
love that I can walk there from
my house! (more at
my blog....)
When
I first moved to Arlington,
MA - I stepped into the Regent
and thought, "What a gem! What a
great place! I
want to make this MY theater
- a place where I create
new pieces!" So
come to my theater and
share that moment when a
new piece first comes to
life -- and you'll love the
Regent, too!
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