Interlochen, Michigan

232nd, 234th Program of the 55th Year *

Neruda’s Suitcase

What to bring, what to leave behind?

A multidimensional poem for the stage Comparative Arts - Theatre - Music - Dance

Thursday, February 16, 2017 7:30pm, Phoenix Theatre Friday, February 17, 2017 7:30pm, Phoenix Theatre

Welcome to Neruda’s Suitcase! When working together, no matter what the circumstance, we have no choice but to learn and practice acceptance and empathy.

Collaboration becomes education for peace ~ This original production tackles some of the complex issues on our plates today as experienced first hand by our students and their families: alternative facts (scene 2 & 7); aging (scene 3); immigration, integration, racism, sexism (scene 4); assumptions about life choices (scene 5 & 6). The set is made out of bio degradable or recyclable materials and the instruments for the orchestras are repurposed from junkyards or made of the finest woods.

How to embed these dark arenas into a theatrical world that is poetic and inspiring? We had to find a play structure that could connect disparate characters and desires in a fantastic scenario and find a musical aesthetic to unite the worlds of the living and the dead, their music and their dreams, from toys to the tango.

Finally, the play is asking us to consider what is important to bring with us on our life journey, and what to leave behind? It also asks us to seek the courage to grow our hearts and take action.

We invite you to take this unique pilgrimage with us. Nicola Conraths-Lange & Anne-Marie Oomen

au·tom·a·ton ôˈtämədən,ôˈtäməˌtän/ An automaton is a self-operating machine, a machine or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a predetermined sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. The automata in the ancient world were intended as tools, toys, religious idols, or prototypes for demonstrating basic scientific principles. Some automata, such as bellstrikers in mechanical clocks, are designed to give the illusion to the casual observer that they are operating under their own power. The automatons in this play have been constructed by Frank Pahl, often scavenging through junkyards, finding anything from toy instruments to rotisseries and broken fireplaces. The instruments are carefully tuned to fit in with the key signature of his compositions, creating a magical world of shadows, sounds and melodies.

Artistic Director:

Nicola Conraths-Lange in collaboration with

Robin Ellis, Anne-Marie Oomen, and David Montee

Ideation: Nicola Conraths-Lange, Susan Byrnes, and Anne-Marie Oomen.

Written by Anne-Marie Oomen in collaboration with the Comparative Student Artists of the Interlochen Arts Academy (2016).

Special Guests: Jeremy Cohen & Frank Pahl *All tunes performed by the toy orchestra are composed by Frank Pahl. Music performed

by the gypsy band is used with permission and arranged by Jeremy Cohen.

Scene 1: Where is Neruda? Opening Auctioneer: Nicholas Trivisonno, Sarasota, Fla.

Lover: Clara Honigberg, Washington, D.C. Who are the Auctioneer and the Conductor? One character is living, having survived terrible revolution, the other is not, having been killed in revolution, but both are drawn to the perhaps futile dream that music and poetry are the means to save the world. “Dies Slowly” by Martha Medeiros, performed by Robin Ellis with live accompaniment by Frank Pahl and recorded at Interlochen Public Radio (2016.) Note: This poem is wrongly attributed to Pablo Neruda but written by the Brazilian writer Martha Medeiros. The discovery of this internet meme was just another opportunity to manipulate our script, which originally saw the auctioneer as the Neruda character. It also gave us the opportunity to appreciate Neruda’s poetry on a different level, since his imagery is more abstract, and in many ways more poetic, adding to the timeless allure of his poems.

Scene 2. Lost Crusader Geoffrey: Tyler Johnston, Boulder, Colo.

Dirk: Gabriel Kennis, Frankfort, Mich. This scene exploring the legacy of war shows off two very different characters in perhaps the ultimate example of an owner having a disconnect from a buyer. The buyer Dirk makes no attempt to hide his greed, while owner Geoffrey has no regard for money and instead found value in life’s truly precious things. ~Gabriel Kennis Music: Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Charles Mingus (1959) played by Jeremy Cohen

Scene 3. The Snow Apple: Oren Frost Story Oren Frost: Andrew Lewis, Porter Ranch, Calif.

Tia: Naphat Na-Nongkhai, Portland, Maine For inspiration for his character, Jack Frost chose his grandfather Oren Frost. Jack’s scene explores his ancestor’s art and his withdrawal from the world due to Alzheimer’s disease. Part of the appeal of making a film about Oren Frost was our access to his painting supplies and drawings, generously provided by his family. Our writers also interviewed Jay Frost, Oren’s son. Taking inspiration from his life as a painter, we chose canvas as the projection surface for the set in the play. Of the potential scenes, Terri chose this one to create our movie. Working with the students, we shot on 16mm film and digital video during a weekend in October. Frank and I stopped to gather more footage at the Frost family farm on our way back to Ann Arbor, and later shot additional Super 8 film in an orchard in Ypsilanti. Film, with its “softer” image, seemed an appropriate medium to capture the memory and longing of the written text. ~Terri Sarris, Senior lecturer, screen arts and cultures, The University of Michigan

Scene 4. My Heart has Spoken: The Geisha and the Cherokee

Aiko: Margaret Shepherd, Springfield, Ill. Seneca: Aubrianna Ensley, Cedar Springs, Mich.

The scene originated from the desire for freedom of identity, which would later manifest itself into the two characters presented and more specifically, their contrasting roles in their cultures. ~Margaret Shepherd and Jamie John, Suttons Bay, Mich. Music: “My Heart Has Spoken,” created and arranged by Courtney Kaiser-Sandler and the students.

Scene 5. L’Armoire or What’s in the Big Closet? Kevin: Moses Bossenbroek, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Dirk: Gabriel Kennis Mime: Liam Pierce, Baraboo, Wis.

Subverting this scene’s humor is the issue of homelessness and our misperceptions about it. We created a scene that nods toward slam poetry but simultaneously challenges Dirk’s judgemental and money-grabbing philosophies. ~Gabriel Kennis, originally conceived with Maxwell Bennett Music: Douce Ambiance by Django Reinhardt (1943). Arranged by Crispin Campbell.

Scene 6. A Little Scarlet in Life or The Answer to the World’s Question: Tango on the Titanic

Anna: Violette Trotter, Wilmette, Ill. Jane: Larkin Lucy, Winthrop, Wash.

Cleverly using letters as a plot device to tell the story, we explored how the tango became the opportunity for a new life, literally. Of the few survivors of the famous shipwreck Titanic, some survived purely on luck, but some on a dance with a fate of their own making. ~Larkin Lucy

Music: Libertango by Astor Piazzolla (1974). Arranged by Jeremy Cohen. Dancers: Alessandra Salazar, Bayonne, N.J.; John Crim, Fitchburg, Wis. Choreography by Ilya Vidrin and Justin Koertgen.

Scene 7. The Philosopher’s Stone or the Leavings of Arrival

Masha’Allah: Ali Ahmed, Dearborn, Mich. Dr. Clark: Peter Carroll, San Francisco, Calif.

Jane: Larkin Lucy

In this scene, we again reached deep into history to find a historical character, Masha’Allah ibn Atharī, eighth-century Persian Jewish astrologer and astronomer to offer the final key from the lost suitcases. We used the characters of the astronomer and the astrologer to compare scientific and metaphysical thought, and the respective importance of each. ~Gabriel Kennis

Music: Masha’Allah’s theme composed by Tyler Johnston

Scene 8. Where is Neruda II?: Closing Will the auctioneer find his poem? Will the apocalypse be avoided? Excerpt from Neruda’s love poem Then Come back: Lost Poems of Neruda. The lost poems were rediscovered in 2014 and published in 2016. Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet, won the Nobel prize for literature in 1971.

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Toy Orchestra Directed by Frank Pahl, celeste and melodica

Tyler Johnston, ukulele

Jefferson Frost, cello, Herndon, Va. Simon Steinorth, toy instruments and Foley artist, Traverse City, Mich.

Jade Parker, saxophone, Cadillac, Mich. Maxwell Bennett, ukulele and toy instruments, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Jenna Van Valkenburg, Foley artist, Traverse City, Mich.

Gypsy Band Directed by Crispin Campbell

Special Guest: Jeremy Cohen, violin

Mitchell Cloutier, violin, Oliver Springs, Tenn. Kate Eddins, violin, Lubbock, Texas

Sydney Whipple, viola, Oakland, Calif. Caroline Quinones De La Cruz, cello, Lima, Peru

Joseph Lee, double bass, Fremont, Calif. Simon Dunson, mandolin, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Elias Braddock, guitar, Mount Pleasant, S.C.

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PROGRAM NOTES From the playwright Anne-Marie Oomen

As a playwright, I found the parameters for this script delightful and truly challenging: link the play to Interlochen’s year of the pilgrim, incorporate the history of the suitcase, guide the comparative students in playwriting process, plot for twelve plus characters, include a tango band, a toy orchestra, a world class violinist, and a movie. Allow for dance and movement, poetry and song. And tell a story, preferably a love story. From the beginning, the play demanded complexity and speed. From the beginning it felt less like a play and more like a three-dimensional poem on steroids. From the beginning we knew it was going to be different from the norm—right for a play designed to integrate multiple arts, multiple artists, and multiple perspectives. The playwriting process is unique, and this one particularly so. The setting was inspired by the Lost Luggage Center in Alabama--where airlines sell long unclaimed luggage, but our sale of lost luggage inhabits a mysterious warehouse where time distorts, where the borders between real world and spirit world grow permeable, where the original owners (long dead) of the lost bags rise from the past, ghostly but aware, to participate in the sale of the suitcase they once carried. These past owners are led by the Conductor, a woman who once believed she could save the world with a great orchestra. What a thought! Enter the Buyers, people of the present who need a suitcase to carry in a turbulent time—not unlike our own. As the world nears an inexplicable apocalypse, the Auctioneer sells the suitcases, but secretly seeks his own lost suitcase. What was in it? What connection do the Auctioneer and the lost Conductor have? How do the past owners influence the decisions of the present buyers? Most importantly, what do the suitcases say to us today? Answering these questions with the comparative arts students led to some of the most creative thinking I have encountered in my writing experience. A play is often referred to as an elegant blueprint. I like better the metaphor of a skeleton. The script, bones of story, may be complete, but without the other collaborative aspects of theater, they are just bones. From the beginning, artists of all walks committed to embody this script. Comparative arts students developed the characters. Working in pairs, they invented suitcase owners and buyers, created backstories and discovered desires. They wrote scene summaries, initial dialogue, and shaped the basic arc. Once our classroom time ended, Niki and I completed the connective tissue. Simultaneously, our visiting artists were doing their part: Frank Pahl, Susan Byrnes, Terri Sarris, Jeremy Cohen, Crispin Campbell, and so many of ICA’s professional technical staff. Finally, Robin Ellis and David Montee joined us to lead the characters into breathing space. Without their persistent skill and dedication, we would never know who these characters were. I am deeply grateful to every person who helped bring Neruda’s Suitcase to life, but no one more than Niki Conraths, the brilliant “conductor” of the suitcase project, whose vision led each of us to discover what is inside Neruda’s and our own suitcases.

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Nicola Conraths-Lange, the Director of Comparative Arts program, has extensive experience in a wide range of artistic collaborations. A dancer by training, Conraths-Lange is also a choreographer and author. In her cross-disciplinary work she is interested in projects where artists have the opportunity to discover and develop a shared vocabulary, working across art forms to create pieces that are truly collaborative. Conraths-Lange’s interest in Performing Arts Medicine has led to research and presentations on injury prevention and performance enhancement for dancers and musicians, and has been presented at conferences in the United States, Singapore, Europe and New Zealand. During her recent sabbatical she traveled the globe anti-clockwise and investigated GAGA, Ohad Naharin’s movement language in Tel Aviv, Israel. Kyle Blasius is happy to be working alongside an incredible creative team on his first project as Production Designer at Interlochen. He has spent the last three summer seasons working for the Presentations department, and is excited for everyone to experience this amazing collaborative project! Susan Byrnes is a visual artist whose work encompasses traditional and contemporary forms and practices, including cast iron sculpture, multimedia installation, radio broadcasts, writing, and curatorial projects. Her art has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the Midwest, including The Korean Cultural Center and Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, the Sculpture Center in Cleveland, the Dayton Art Institute, and the University of Minnesota’s Nash Gallery in Minneapolis. In 2014, Byrnes was awarded a Cincinnati Art Ambassador Fellowship for Discover, an exhibition combining molecular biology, glass sculpture, video, and sound. She teaches as part of the Ohio Arts Council Arts Learning Artist in Residence Program, and is a contributor to the online art journal AEQAI and the print publication Acrylic Artist Magazine. Her audio pieces based on artists and artmaking processes, including photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, sculptor Patrick Dougherty, eco-artist Basia Irland, and video artist Jud Yalkut have been broadcast on WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She earned an M.F.A. from Eastern Michigan University and a B.F.A. from Syracuse University. Byrnes resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Crispin Campbell is Instructor of Cello, Chamber Music, and String Improvisation at Interlochen Arts Academy. He performs with the Neptune Quartet, Interlochen String Quartet, and the improvisational ensemble under his own name. He has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and improvising cellist throughout the United States, South America and Europe, recently recording solo cello music for the film Bolden in New York City. He was also founder and Artistic Director of the Manitou Musical Festival in Leelanau County from 1991 to 2004. Campbell’s musical interests are wide, ranging from the classical cello repertoire to varying styles of improvisation, including jazz, blues, folk and Latin American music. His collaborative performances have involved chamber music with his colleagues at Interlochen, as well as members of the Juilliard, Fine Arts and Stradivari Quartets, the Raphael Trio, and members of the Chicago and Detroit Symphonies. His improvisational playing with cellist Eugene Friesen, the Neptune Quartet and vocalists Janice Keegan and Claudia Schmidt involves appearances at music festivals and concert venues both nationwide and internationally. He has been an instructor for Javeriana University and the Filarmonica Joven de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. He holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and San Jose State University.

Jeremy Cohen’s electrifying jazz violin performances have earned him nationwide accolades. Classically-trained and a student of Itzhak Perlman and Anne Crowden, Cohen’s eclectic style reflects his respect for a wide range of violinists from Perlman and Fritz Kreisler to Joe Venuti and Eddie South. Cohen has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Virginia Symphony, California Symphony and the Reno Philharmonic. His recording credits include motion picture and television soundtracks including “The Dukes of Hazzard” and Jane Fonda’s “Dollmaker,” and as concertmaster on recordings with Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Aaron Neville, Howard Keel and Cleo Laine. On the stage he was the solo violinist in Forever Tango and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and has toured and recorded with the Turtle Island String Quartet. A faculty member of the Henry Mancini Institute since 1997 and The Jazz School (Berkeley) since 2004, Cohen also taught for six years at the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He has recorded two CDs of jazz standards with his “ViolinJazz” quartet. His orchestral arrangements have been featured by the San Jose and San Francisco Chamber Orchestras, the Bay Area’s Peninsula Symphony, Reading (Pa.) Philharmonic, Reno Philharmonic, and the Sun Valley (Idaho) and Mendocino (Calif.) Music Festivals. Robin Ellis is an Instructor of Theatre Arts at Interlochen Arts Academy. She has directed over 25 productions, including Carousel, Chicago, South Pacific, Thoroughly Modern Millie, She Loves Me, Medea, The Crucible, The Secret Garden, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Blood Wedding, Top Girls, The Heidi Chronicles. She has also served as a teacher/director at Lansing Community College, Children's Academy of Performing Arts (Marblehead, MA), Willoway Apprentice Theatre (Bloomfield Hills, MI), Summer Youth Theatre (Lawrence, KS), Arts Encounter Theatre (Lansing, MI). An actress since age five, Ellis' credits include 3 years with Kenley Players in Columbus, Ohio: Carousel with John Raitt, Music Man with Van Johnson, Showboat with Howard Keel and Elizabeth Allen, South Pacific with Juanita Hall and Rosano Brazzi, The King and I with Doretta Morrow and Patricia Morison, The Wizard of Oz with Brenda Lee, Song of Norway with Inger Stevens, Carnival with Ann Blythe, Flower Drum Song with Pat Suzuki and Juanita Hall. Her educational background includes the University of Oklahoma (Acting/Directing); University of Kansas (Acting); Lansing Community College (Arts & Humanities, Theatre emphasis); BoarsHead Theater Apprentice Program; Willoway Apprentice Theatre. David Montee is an Instructor of Theatre Arts at Interlochen Arts Academy. He holds a Ph.D. in theatre history and criticism, a Master of Fine Arts degree in classical acting, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama/performance education. In addition to teaching, he has directed and acted in nearly 200 stage productions over the length of his professional and educational career, including the direction of 40 productions at the Academy (19 of them Shakespeare plays). Dr. Montee was named a Presidential Scholars Distinguished Teacher by the United States Department of Education in 2001 and 2009; in 2004 he was awarded the Coca-Cola Distinguished Teacher in the Arts from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts; and in 2016 he was awarded Honorable Mention by the Tony Awards for Excellence in Theatre Education. He is the author of the 2014 book Translating Shakespeare: A Guidebook for Young Actors. He was invited to join the roster of Resident Artists at Jeff Daniels's Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea, Michigan, where he played the role of Felix for 63 performances of The Odd Couple as part of that theatre's 25th Anniversary Season. In 2016, he received the Encore Michigan Theatre Critics’ Oscar

Wilde Award for Best Shakespearean performance for his work in the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival’s 2015 production of As You Like It.

Anne-Marie Oomen is author of the memoir Love, Sex and 4-H, (winner, Next Generation Indie Award, memoir); Pulling Down the Barn, and House of Fields, (Michigan Notable Books); An American Map: Essays (Wayne State University Press); and a full-length collection of poetry, Uncoded Woman (Milkweed Editions). She is represented in New Poems of the Third Coast: Contemporary Michigan Poetry, edited Looking Over My Shoulder: Reflections on the Twentieth Century, an anthology of seniors' essays funded by the Michigan Humanities Council. She has written seven plays, including award-winning Northern Belles (inspired by oral histories of women farmers), and Secrets of Luuce Talk Tavern, 2012 winner of the CTAM contest. She adapted the meditations of Gwen Frostic for Chaotic Harmony, a choreopoem. She is founding editor of Dunes Review, former president of Michigan Writers, Inc., serves as instructor at the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing at Pine Manor College, MA; Interlochen College of Creative Arts; and appears at conferences throughout the country. She and her husband, David Early, built their home near Empire, Michigan. www.anne-marieoomen.com Frank Pahl has received over 100 commissions for theatre, film and dance since 1990, and has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia. In the late 90’s his obsession with automatic music began, inspired by fellow tinkerers Pierre Bastien and Trimpin. He has had several solo shows in the United States and Canada of his sound installations. In 2010 he received a Kresge Fellowship in Sound Art. In addition to collaborating with international artists in the toypop world, Pahl leads three Detroit-based groups: Scavenger Quartet, The Lovely and the Wretched, and Little Bang Theory. Little Bang Theory performs on toy instruments and has accompanied a range of silent film, everything from Orson Welles to Alfred Hitchcock to Ozu with Japanese benshi. Terri Sarris has been teaching media production at the University of Michigan for over two decades. Her experimental films have screened at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 2017-2015 and 2008. The Radiant Sun, her documentary on Kresge Eminent Artist Ruth Adler Schnee, has screened nationally and internationally at design conferences and museums. Sarris has been a juror and moderator at the TC Film Festival, and curator of programs for Echo Park Film Center’s “Marvelous Movie Mondays,” the Detroit Screen Dance Festival, and “The Mini Microcinema” in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sarris has created outreach initiatives centered on media literacy and production. Along with former student Sultan Sharrief, Sarris developed the "EFEX Project.” Their film Bilal’s Stand, was one of eight films selected for the <NEXT> category at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, was awarded a “Crystal Heart” Award at the Heartland Film Festival, and has screened widely at festivals and in connection with outreach events centered on media and higher education. Sarris also performs with the musical toy band trio Little Bang Theory (LBT). The brainchild of Frank Pahl, LBT performs original scores to classic silent films.

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PRODUCTION CREDITS Acting Coaches .............................................................................. Robin Ellis, David Montee Apple Film .............................................................................................................. Terri Sarris Singer-songwriter Instructor and Vocal Coach ................................. Courtney Kaiser-Sandler Choreography and Movement for the Stage ...................................... Nicola Conraths-Lange Set Design ........................................................................................................... Kyle Blasius Lighting Design ............................................................. Kyle Blasius, assisted by Jamie John Costumes .................................................................................................... Candace Hughes Stage Management ..................................................................................... Savannah Parker Case/Prop/Sign Construction ............................................................................ Susan Byrnes Audio Production .............................................................................................. Jennifer Apple Assistant Director of Presentations .................................................................... Brent Wrobel Projections Engineer ............................................................................................ Larry Lynch Special Effects .................................................................................................... Taoufik Nadji

Neruda Logo Design:

Tyler Johnston

This presentation was made possible with support from

the Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs.

Many thanks to Nadji, Joseph Morrissey, Ilya Vidrin, Justin Koertgen, Bill Church, Kedrik Merwin, Doug Shively, Michelle Hunt, Kathleen Fallon,

David Early, J Berry, Crispin Campbell, Jay & Yuko Frost, Susan Byrnes, Terri Sarris, Frank Pahl, Jeremy Cohen.

Note from the Artistic Director: My heartfelt appreciation to Anne-Marie Oomen, Robin Ellis, David Montee and Cris Campbell for saying “yes.” Love to my Comparative Arts students who are the most remarkable group of multi-talented individuals. Many thanks to the theatre and dance students of the Arts Academy who gave so generously of their time and talent.

This performance is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Sandys

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UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2016-17 IAA PERFORMING ARTS SERIES

Gabriel Kahane February 21, 7:30pm, Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall Easily one of composer Gabriel Kahane’s best-known works, Craigslistlieder was his first concert work, and it was re-released by indie record label Family Records in 2008. This intense and interesting piece sets actual, real-life Craigslist ads to music. Kahane is an American singer-songwriter living in New York City best known for his rich mastery of the piano and his creation of eclectic musical pieces, most often mixing his classical background with modern folk-pop influences. He attended the New England Conservatory before transferring to Brown University, where he wrote his first musical and graduated with a bachelor's degree in music. Bob James and Nancy Stagnitta - "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" March 4, 2:30pm, Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall March 4, 7:30pm, Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall You're invited to a night of world premiere music at the launch of "In the Chapel in the Moonlight!" Interlochen's own instructor of flute Nancy Stagnitta joins multiple Grammy-winning pianist, composer, and arranger Bob James for a stunning performance of works written and arranged for the duo by James, uniquely spanning the classical, jazz, and pop idioms. This evening of great music will include several world premieres, written and arranged by James for this special collaborative performance with Stagnitta. Join us and be one of the first to hear this new music performed before a live audience. Jessica Lang Dance March 7, 7:30pm, Corson Auditorium "A master of visual composition" (Dance Magazine) and a choreographer with more than 80 commissions that have been performed worldwide, Jessica Lang and her dynamic company present a program of contemporary ballet that showcase the talent that has led Jessica Lang Dance to become one of the most exciting new companies in today's dance scene. Jonathan Biss & Mark Padmore March 15, 7:30pm, Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall Musical America’s 2016 Vocalist of the Year Mark Padmore pairs with world-renowned pianist Jonathan Biss. British tenor Mark Padmore and American pianist Jonathan Biss partner together to bring their distinctive and powerful individual talents like no other musical duo can. With a varied repertoire including everything from classical to medieval polyphony, they are highly regarded as two of the leading names in contemporary classical performers. Together, they combine words and music in a way that emotes passion with a command that is both solid and transcending. Edmar Castaneda Trio April 6, 7:30pm, Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall Since Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda moved to the United States in 1994, he has taken New York and the world stage by storm with the sheer force of his virtuosic command of the harp. Revolutionizing the way audiences and critics alike consider the harp, Castaneda is a master at realizing beautiful complexities of time. He has become known for his crafting of cross-rhythms layered with chordal nuances that rival the most celebrated flamenco guitarist's efforts. Together with David Silliman on drums/percussion and Marshall Gilkes on trombone, the trio creates exciting and engaging music that has thrilled audiences worldwide.

Pants Down Circus April 10, 7:30pm, Corson Auditorium The energetic and creative, vibrant and highly skilled Pants Down Circus is an ensemble working together to produce new, exciting and spectacular work, without taking itself too seriously. The four-person troupe formed in 2011 as a way to showcase their many individual and ensemble skills, and premiered as Pants Down Circus Rock in January, 2014 at the Western Australia Circus Festival. The show was inspired by classic rock such as Aerosmith, AC/DC, Joan Jett, Queen, Metallica and Bon Jovi. Pants Down Circus won the Best Circus award at the 2012 Melbourne Fringe, and placed second out of 900+ performances at the People's Choice Awards at the 2013 Adelaide Fringe. Composers in Context: Gabriel Kahane performed by the Arts Academy Orchestra April 21, 7:30pm, Corson Auditorium Cardenio, by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher April 21 and 22, 7:30pm; April 23, 2:00pm Harvey Theatre (Tickets will go on sale Friday, March 24 at 9 a.m. est.) Records show that in the winter of 1612 a play by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, called Cardenna, was performed at the Court of James I. Just over a century later, the "lost" manuscript of the play was purportedly handed down to London theatre entrepreneur Lewis Theobald, who then adapted it into a play entitled Double Falsehood. While the original manuscript has since been lost once more, 21st century scholars and analysts of Double Falsehood have agreed that it contains many passages and scenes that are written by Shakespeare and Fletcher. In 2010 Gregory Doran, current Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, combined Double Falsehood with his own extensive knowledge of Shakespeare literature and production into a new version of this "lost play" by William Shakespeare, restoring its original title, Cardenio. Doran's version of the play, which is based upon an episode in the novel Don Quixote, draws upon a team of writers including Cervantes, Shakespeare, Fletcher, and Theobald. The result is a passionate love story involving attempted murder, rape, and betrayals of love and friendship that takes the audience on an exciting journey to 16th century Spain. Composers in Context: April 22, 7:30pm, Corson Auditorium ~ Arts Academy Band April 28, 7:30pm, Corson Auditorium ~ Arts Academy Choir My Fair Lady, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe May 12 and 13, 7:30pm; May 13, 2:00pm, Corson Auditorium The incredibly popular play My Fair Lady has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The beloved story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a lady. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a momentous hit, setting a record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. Select songs from the play have become part of the American songbook, and include such memorable pieces as "I Could Have Danced All Night' and "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face."

For information and tickets, visit tickets.interlochen.org * * *

In consideration of the performing artists and other patrons, the use of flash photography is not permitted. Federal copyright and licensing rules prohibit the use of video cameras and other recording equipment.

In order to provide a safe and healthy environment, Interlochen maintains a smoke-free and alcohol-free campus.

Michigan law prohibits any weapons, including concealed weapons, on Interlochen property because we are an educational campus. Thank you for your cooperation.

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