“eighth blackbird's performances are the picture of polish and precision.” —The New York Times
West Coast Premiere | Co-commisioned by Lively Arts
Memory and personal experience are the touchstones of SLIDE, a new concert-length music/theater work by composer Steve Mackey and director/singer/actor Rinde Eckert. These two frequent collaborators are joined onstage by the stunningly virtuosic, Grammy-winning ensemble eighth blackbird, for whom this work was created.
As Mackey narrates (and performs on electric guitar), Eckert plays “Renard,” an enigmatic psychologist conducting an experiment with in- and out-of-focus slides, in which subjects struggle to identify the real image behind the elusive blur—often in the face of interference or subversion from Renard’s colleagues. The experiment becomes a powerful metaphor for our times, as we all strive to discern the truth behind the many images and messages we encounter in our daily lives. Likewise, SLIDE’s music shifts tantalizingly between classical and rock influences. In the L.A. Times’ words, “the stylistic sliding is…powerful and impressive.”
Mackey and Eckert are well-known to Bay Area audiences through work with Berkeley Rep, ACT, the San Francisco Symphony, and Paul Dresher Ensemble. Mackey is a Princeton composition professor, former rock guitarist and early Kronos Quartet collaborator. Eckert is a Pulitizer Prize finalist in Drama and an Obie Award–winner whose previous works at Lively Arts have included Horizon, Schick Machine, and Slow Fire (with Paul Dresher).
POST PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION with Steve Mackey, Rinde Eckert & Jenny Bilfield
- Venue: Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford University
- Date: Sat March 5, 2011 8:00pm
- City: Palo Alto
- Price Range: $44.00 - 50.00 (Adult) | Discounts available - please check website for more information
- Tickets: 650-725-ARTS (2787)
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Articles
February 22, 2011
Slide is the latest in a series of opera, oratorio, and experimental theater projects that librettist Rinde Eckert has created with composer Steven Mackey.
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