About the Performance Marie is a modern woman in a time of endless possibilities. But on her 30th birthday, she reflects on her life and realizes she hasn’t done much of anything, especially since her father passed away. Today will be the day that she starts getting her life together. The opera, which takes place in the modern apartment of the female lead, starts with an introduction of the main character, Marie. At the end of this scene the audience votes which path to take from the two choices presented. After the audience selects the first path, they will encounter other choices at the end of each 2-6 minute scene. With each choice, characters who are intertwined with the lead character present new plot twists and dilemmas. The scenes progress from solo to ensemble singing as the experience unfolds. Marie Begins is a condensed, comic opera with Jazz and Classical music roots. A chorus is incorporated as cinematic memories of friends and family of Marie and as her interior voice, the voice she battles with. A jazz trio with a Keyboard/Sampler accompanies the cast of five singers. The sampler is used to integrate the sounds of the apartment into the music as a way to expand the story through music. For example, in an interlude the singers are interrupted by their mobile devices leaving sentences unfinished and conversations incomplete. The incorporation of sounds from modern life serves as a way to further comment on Marie’s dilemma as she battles with distraction and “busyness” in her life while feeling as if she has accomplished little.
