Last year I put a lot of my time into helping to write a musical for the Columbia Marionette Theatre here in Columbia, SC.
Working with artist/puppeteer Lyon Hill is always a thrill for me. I have a great deal of respect for his vision. I wrote numerous songs for the show, which was our take on the Russian fairytale “The Frog Princess,” and I had the fun of seeking out talented friends to fill the various roles. Here is a quiet moment from the show, which, in the recorded soundtrack, is sung by the luminous Stefanie Santana (do please check out her songs, which make me cry, they are so beautiful and she is so frank and real, which is why I wanted her to play the young heroine). For the purposes of my ol’ blog, though, I sang the song live with Mitra Salehi puppeteering Vasilisa in frog form.
I hoped, through this song, to communicate something not only about Vasilisa’s specific plight but also a more universal idea of feeling sometimes like your body is interfering with your ability to be truly “seen.” So, yes, wistful stuff? And, in a show about a curse, the song serves as a bit of a counter-spell.
We will soon have the entire production available for viewing on youtube. I’ll include a link as soon as that is the case.
