On a Train Heading South was commissioned by ODC/San Francisco as a collaboration with choreographer Brenda Way and lighting/stage designer Alex Nichols. It is a dance theatre work exploring media saturation and human inattention to the environment and climate change. The central character is Cassandra, and the piece is set in an iconic ballroom environment in which she struggles to gain the attention of the crowd of party-goers. The set features an arc of twelve blocks of ice suspended over a silver floor – a double-edged vision of loveliness and self-absorption. The ice blocks melt throughout the performance – an aural and visual component of the half hour piece. On a Train Heading South is a cautionary tale about our own natures and the nature that sustains us. It was premiered in March 2005 as part of ODC’s 34th home season at the Yerba Buena Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, and toured the U.S. including performances at the Joyce Theater in New York.
COMPOSER & PIANIST