Los Angeles / California / United States
After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries launched their site-specific theatricale, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with three weeks of performances in Culver City which ran from July 8th-25th 2010. The contemporary opera integrates art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands takes the audience on a journey with working class Tom and aristocratic Sue, who have lost their identities. The couple reclaims their story by means of a device that allows them to inhabit the "lands" that hold the pivotal experiences of their lives embodied in songs, dances, pledges of allegiance, and rituals indigenous to those turning points. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was conceptualized by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, and many others. A benefit fundraiser, in support of Overtone and Songs & Dances of Imaginary Lands was held December 6th 2010. Thanks to Patty Cornell and all the artists/volunteers! Overtone Industries has received support from The Ahmanson Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and The National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, real estate developer Joseph Miller, owner and president of The Runyon Group, has generously donated the use of a vacant Culver City car dealership for the production of Songs & Dances of Imaginary Lands. This year we are drumming up dollars from the private sector to support the production of this 7-year collaboration.
