June 3 - 4
Towards Opulence, the Opera
Co-Production with ABD PRODUCTIONS SKYWATCHERS
Towards Opulence, the Opera is part of an ongoing act of creative resistance and imaginative reclamation by the Skywatchers Ensemble.
Skywatchers believes that Tenderloin residents and ensemble members are the Truth Tellers of our society, the Cassandras. Towards Opulence begins with an exploration of cultural gaslighting, animating truths that are systematically ignored or disbelieved, in no small part because those truths—and those who speak them—are inextricably linked to the origins of power and oppression in this country. The work moves from resistance to reclamation: Believing that we cannot create what we haven’t yet imagined, we step into a future of our own conjuring, claiming our most audacious and glorious selves. By drawing the line from our current conditions to those bold imaginations of the future, Towards Opulence calls forth our collective capacity to manifest change.
CAST & CREW
Performers: Shavonne Allen, Anne Bluethenthal, Lawanna Bracy, Noell Castro, Gabriele Christian, Dot Com, Kim Diamond, Wanda Edwards, Ann Marie Eunice, Lord Frederick, Marvin Fulton, Gigi Goddard, Maurice Hudson, Nazelah Jamison, Freddy Martin, Dennis McCauley, Regi Meadows, Lotus Miller, Caroline Poyaoan, Duane Sears, Shakiri, Sonic, Lauren Swiger, Dazié Grego Sykes, and Joel Yates
Choral Director, Songwriter: Melanie DeMore, in collaboration with the Ensemble
With music contributions from: Jennifer Johns and Valerie Troutt
Sound Design: Inez Nuñez
Set Design and Fabrication: Dustin Ordway
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CO-PRODUCTION
ABD SKYWATCHERS
ABD’s principal program, Skywatchers, reflects an enduring commitment to creating performance that centers the urgent concerns of formerly unhoused residents of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, working with professional artists in a collaboration rooted in the ethos that large-scale social change begins with intimate, interpersonal relationships.
With art as a catalyst and common language, the multi-disciplinary, mixed-ability ensemble creates work that amplifies neighborhood stories and illuminates narratives too often invisible in our collective cultural production.