Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Emily Dickinson - The Next Chapter




"I Told Myself to Sing" is now titled "Wider Than The Sky".  Powerful new avenues have come to Barbara Dana's and my dream of a play with music.  With each revision the show gets stronger and deeper.  Emily Dickinson's spirit and spunk sparkle with intensity and purpose.

 

On Friday evening June 7th, Hudson Stage Company in Croton-on-Hudson sponsored our staged reading of "Wider Than The Sky".  The newest version of Barbara's brilliant script inspired all of us to new levels of performance.  With songs and music that were further adapted to fit the flow of Emily's journey of accepting her own death, the show was an emotional success for the actors and audience members alike.

We welcomed Susannah Jones and Morgan Auld to the cast who found voices for multiples of characters who enter Emily's life.  Elizabeth Morton as Emily delved into the poet's soul with elegance.   Again, Martin Hennessy and I offered our musical and dramatic talents.

Also, new to this reading was our director, Anthony Arkin.  A veteran actor and film director, Anthony brought great insights to the show, to our characters and the overall shape of the story. 

Thank you to Hudson StageCompany, Denise Bessette, Dan Foster and Olivia Sklar for making this performance possible, for providing dinner between the rehearsal and performance and for your dedicated audience who attended. 

Emily Dickinson has taken us on an ever evolving dramatic journey.  Next stop on our staged readings calendar was a performance for the Emily Dickinson International Society's conference in College Park, MD.  As I have said before, "Wider Than the Sky" is a work in progress.  Emily Dickinson's inspiring life and poetry cheer us on. 

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