#2022 creators self-love extravaganza

[what-plant-metaphor-am-i]

2022 Creators Self-Love Extravaganza!

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works (fics, art, edits, etc.) you’ve created this year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2022. If you don’t have five published works, that’s fine! Include ideas/drafts/whatever you like that you’ve worked on/thought about, and talk a little about them instead! Remember, this is all about self-love and positive enthusiasm, so fuck the rules if you need to. Have fun, and tag as many fellow creators as you like so they can share the love!

Considering myself tagged by @onedivinemisfit ;) thanks!! Similarly, if anyone wants to do this and hasn't been tagged yet, I tag you! <3

Hug Lessons

I was so pleased to finally get this drawn on paper after it had lived in my head for so long :) Still makes me laugh to imagine this interaction between them...

2. Drinks and Hijinks

Gosh this took me SO LONG to finish! I'm proud of the work I put into it and the overall finished piece, especially considering how I find clothes and poses verrry difficult to draw :') I like seeing the whole gang together, and it was my first time properly drawing Zen!

3. Soirée Away

A fic that I had a great time writing! I got pretty immersed in the scenes and was happy with the outcome~ Dramatic Eisetsu was super fun to write :D

4. Chat Noir Obi

Like I said before poses and clothes are tricky for me, and this is a full-body pose, in other words, a moment of triumph. I have a whole list of ML au notes that I might build on one day, and if it gets me improving full body poses and clothes then it certainly is miraculous, ahaha

5. Concern...

A smally but a goody! I really like her expression and the detail I got into her hair and collar :) Also: Bun Shirayuki!!

Some honourable mentions:

Pillow Talk Part 2 (finally completed it omg)

The Sassassins

Blanket Obi being a Mood

[onedivinemisfit]

2022 Creator’s Self-Love Extravaganza

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works (fics, art, edits, etc.) you’ve created this year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2022. If you don’t have five published works, that’s fine! Include ideas/drafts/whatever you like that you’ve worked on/thought about, and talk a little about them instead! Remember, this is all about self-love and positive enthusiasm, so fuck the rules if you need to. Have fun, and tag as many fellow creators as you like so they can share the love!

Tagged by @bubblesthemonsterartist tho I daresay I am fashionably late at this point, more than two weeks into the new year. Did I forget? Maaaaybe. Which brings us right to the main problem;

I barely remember. Like. 2022. At all. Things happened, I’m sure, but it’s as if there’s a fine layer of mist atop my memories, stopping me from really seeing them. Last year wasn’t really very kind to me. For every up, three downs followed, and between two failed surgeries, a bout of covid, and then whatever the hell kind of flare happened in the autumn… yeah. Idek. It is what it is.

As such, I can’t really comment on my art as like, a whole process, this year. It just existed in the ‘now’, which is presently the ‘then’. I know I beat my submission record from last year, but it felt like a meaningless victory. Despite everything, I can feel it in my hand now, when I draw, that some progress has been made. Subconsciously perhaps, but it’s there.

Onto the ranking then! (I just had to pull up the archive cuz fuck if I remember what I posted, and when)

1.

*deep sigh* we all saw this coming, didn’t we? As much as I love, I curse this image, for in hindsight it felt as if all my creative energy for the entire damned year went into this one piece! Like how dare! But yes it is one of my best redraws ever, and more so than the characters, I feel like I added to the background something even better than the original. There, I said it.

2.

Omigod this entire thiiiiiing. Were it not for the redraw, this would be the top spot. I can’t explain, so many ideas are left in the brain for countless hours, days, months, YEARS. This was two years in the making, and never before did I manage to recreate something that had the exact same vibe as it looked in my imagination. Especially because I’m not a comic creator, hashtag compulsive disclaimer lol. Also while I was drawing it, seeing people go from “hmmm what’s this?” to “wait is that-?” and then “ooooooh it is the lead-up to The Thing” was priceless.

3.

A last-second outlier comes in third. I admit to making this in a hurry, just to have something really nice to show for december (a month which is usually a highly productive month to me, but 2022 didn’t let me have that either) and as such, since I was struggling, both with a deadline, and a lack of real inspiration, I feel like. I managed to improve, somehow. Call it magic, but this looks noticeably different to many of my other colored pieces.

4.

To be perfectly honest, this was a sketch. People might not think it one, for it has details, a color scheme, and even effects - but at the time I posted it, this was just a colorized sketch in my mind. Tumblr disagreed. And I was left in awe watching this first get reblogged within the fandom, then beyond, then go through a hanfu appreciation blog, and finally reblogged with a truly tender chinese poem attached that said person felt gave them the same vibe as what I had drawn. The people spoke, and I was both awed and humbled, and I learned a valuable lesson in humanity relating to art.

5.

Unlike the others, this was a conscious attempt at something different. I can’t really say why it should go in the fifth spot, but it does; i spent a lot more time than usual on composition, colors, and most importantly, mood setting. And putting characters so solidly into the middleground can be a challenge in itself for me, as I run the risk of getting storybook-ish. Which would’ve been disastrous for a scene like this.

Honorable mention;

Coping through art. @bubblesthemonsterartist has the honor of inspiring this, or like, being the one to “give me” the go-ahead to channel some of my experiences through the characters and story-telling in general. Back pain is something I know all too well, and it was well and truly therapeutic. I also got to do another test of “can I retell this scene, even if I switch part of the cast and premise?” And it seems I did. I will always remember @what-plant-metaphor-am-i ‘s tag; ‘# I feel like I just watched an entire episode XD’ <- never has my inner storyteller been more validated.

There, that wasn’t so hard! Sometimes I’m really thankful for the internet, and timestamps, and kicking my memory back into gear etc… anyway, since I am so woefully late to the party, I’m not tagging anyone specifically; if you wanna be fashionably late too, you know who tagged you~

[nimata-beroya]

Since I've been re-vamping my blog a bit, adding some fun stuff, I thought that a new self-promotion post was also in order. So here you go, an improved masterlist of all my works published on Ao3 and all other content I make here on Tumblr (Updated: Dec, 2022).

I'd appreciate your reblogs and comments if you enjoy any of my works 😊🤩🥰 Give the creator some love 💕💕 But if you like none of those options, you could buy me a ko-fi ☕ instead!

(IDs in alt text)

The Bad Batch Appreciation Week 2021 Masterlist (gifsets)

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Rescue in Ryloth (complete, 670 words)

Teen | tw violence| one-shot | fix-it

The rescue of the Syndullas in Ryloth goes differently than it was planned

Rough Awakening (WIP, 9365 words of ?) ~~ Playlist

Teen | tw violence | 4 of ? Chapters | emotional hurt/comfort, whump, angst.

The Batch finally rips Crosshair away from the Empire’s clutches, but things don’t go so smoothly once he’s de-chipped.

On An Adventure (complete, 713 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 2]

General | no warning | one-shot | Fluff

On a rare stormless night, 99 and Omega go for a little adventure.

Tomorrow Is a Good Day for Someone Else to Die (complete, 1152 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 3]

Teen | tw referenced violence | one-shot | whump, bullying, minor injuries, blood

The life of Crosshair and Tech in Kamino as cadets has never been easy.

Seeing Red (complete, 1097 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 6]

Teen | tw canon typical violence | One-shot | whump, serious injuries, blood, pre canon

The Bad Batch goes on their first mission to the battlefront. Things take a sudden turn south.

We Don't Leave Our Own Behind (complete, 1469 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 8, 9 & 11]

Teen | tw at your discretion | one-shot | whump, dehydration, abandonment, season 1 finale fix-it

Hunter respects Crosshair's choice not to join the batch again, even if it's a karking ass-stupid decision. And yet, love, loyalty, and a tad of guilt —okay, okay… a lot of guilt— don't let him make the same mistake he did before, abandoning his brother.

•

Or the one where the batch goes back for Crosshair after leaving him stranded on the landing platform in Kamino.

Claiming the Soldier (complete, 919 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 4]

Explicit [MINORS DO NOT INTERACT] | Tw sexual content | one-shot | smut, BDSM, femdom, male sub, x reader

You and Wrecker hit a life-changing milestone in your relationship.

More to come

On An Adventure (complete, 713 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 2]

General | no warning | one-shot | Fluff

On a rare stormless night, 99 and Omega go for a little adventure.

3 Long Days (complete, 1573 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Days 10 & 15]

Teen | no warnings | one-shot | whump, anaphylaxis, delirium

When Ahsoka falls ill, Anakin doesn't leave her side.

You're Still There, I know (complete, 2101 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 25] ~~ Playlist

Teen | tw at your discretion | one-shot | whump, angst, post order 66, mind control, canon divergence

Riyo feels like she lost the man she loves. If only Fox would talk to her and explain why.

How to Save a Life (wip, 4027 words of ?) [Whumptober 2022 - Days 2,3, 16 & 31 + Bad Things Happen Bingo "Mind Control"]

Teen | tw at your discretion | 2 of 3 chapters | whump, angst, post order 66, mind control, post order 66, canon divergence, canon-typical violence, hurt/comfort, sequel to You're still there, I know.

No matter how much he screams internally or how many times Fox tries to kill Palpatine, or how many times he blames himself for not realizing the enemy was under his nose all this time, nothing changes. His body remains out of his control, only moving when Palpatine finally dismissed him from the office. He walks out like the automaton he has become, his mindless body following the orders of the Sith Lord.

Riyo will die at his hand, and there’s nothing Fox can do to stop it.

Something In the Dark (complete, 2569 words) [Foxiyo Week 2022 - Day 1 + Whumptober 2022 - Day 10 (Alt prompt)]

Teen | no warning | one-shot | Implied Torture, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, mutual pining

Senator Riyo Chuchi and Commander Fox have an unexpected encounter in the darkness.

High Above the Ground (complete, 1513 words) [Foxiyo week 2022 - Day 3]

Mature | tw mild sexual content | one-shot | smut, fluff, domesticity, no order 66, slice of life

Fox's very good, even if a little frustrating, start of a day.

More to come

Kadala (complete, 1197 words)

General | no warnings | one-shot | hurt/comfort, fluff

Mando returns to the Razor Crest after finishing a job and gets help from the little guy.

Drifting (complete, 359 words)

General | no warning | one-shot | angst

Din has seen death up close more times he can count and escaped it just as many. This time, he might not.

Sandawuni Va Umtidagir (WIP, 1524 words of ?)

Teen | tw violence | 2 of ? Chapters | canon-compliant, missing scenes, headcanons

The life of Din Djarin, beroya of the Mandalorian covert in Nevarro, turns upside down the moment he accepts the commission from the client. The quarry he’s after is like any other he has hunted before. He doesn’t expect to form a bond for a lifetime, nor the things he’s willing to do to protect the foundling.

Ramaanla (1k words) [Whumptober 2022 - Days 4, 17 (alt prompt) & 19 + Bad Things Happen Bingo "Hiding an Injury"]

General | TW mention of blood | one-shot | Whump, knees buckling, stabbing, hiding an injury, Mand’alor the reluctant

The duty of the Mand'alor is to look out for all Mandalorians. Sometimes, however, Din Djarin forgets to take care of one in specific: himself.

Magical Exhaustion (gifset) [Whumptober 2022 - Day 27]

Note to Self: Don't Get Kidnapped (gifset) [Whumptober 2022 - Day 30]

More to come

Help, I'm Alive (WIP, 2101 words of ?) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 14 & 31]

Teen | tw at your discretion | 1 of 2 chapters | whump, trapped beneath debris, serious injuries, disaster zone

Ezra had imagined many times that he’d die in the heat of a battle against the Empire; he’s had several close calls already. But in his wildest dreams, he never foresaw that his death would come when a temple fell on top of him.

Road to Lira San [Series] (wip, 12,577 words of ?)

PARTS: One ~ Two ~ Three

Teen | warning; violence | 3 of ? works | angst, fluff, canon-compliant, whuump

Agent Kallus never imagined that the day he gets stranded on the Genosian moon, Bahryn, with the rebel Captain Garazeb Orrelios is the day he starts a journey to redemption. The path is not easy, full of risks, but it might be worth it when happiness such as Alexsandr has never known is waiting for him at the end.

An Explosive Situation (complete, 1897 words) [SW X-tober Extravaganza ~ Day 1]

Teen | tw canon-typical violence | one-shot | whump, hurt Alexsandr Kallus

After a solo mission to the planet Dela goes south, Kallus finds himself in a tight spot. The Spectres go to his rescue, but the actual saving turns out more complicated than expected.

Deconstructed Reality  (wip, 2.946 of ?) [Kalluzeb Minibang 2022] ~~ playlist

Teen | tw referenced torture and genocide, mind control, PTSD | 2 of 4 chapters | canon divergence, Bahryn with a different ending

What if Alexsandr Kallus has been a rebel all along, even if he doesn’t remember?

Running Out of Air (Complete, 1442 words) [Whumptober 2022 - Day 5 + Bad Things Happen Bingo "Clawing at Own Throat"]

Teen | TW Violence | One-shot | Whump, strangulation, force choking, implied beheading, implied massacre, nightmares

Kallus faces his worst nightmare yet.

The Tables Are Turned (3.1k words) [Whumptober 2022 - Day 25]

Mature | TW Implied sexual content | one-shot | mention of BDSM, whumpers are the good guys and the bad guys are the whumpees, role reversal, psychological torture, interrogation

Captain Rhamis of the Imperial Army takes the night off to indulge in his vices. Little does he know that his evening will go very differently than he expects. Instead of satiating his base urges, he falls into a trap, where former ISB Agent Alexsandr Kallus and Rebel Garazeb Orrelios force information out of him.

More to come

Orys Kinall: Post || Web page || Ao3

Lieutenant Onix: Post || Web page || Ao3

Sergeant Dropper: Post || Web page || Ao3

Corporal Clawbird: Post || Web Page || Ao3

Private Nock: Post || Web Page || Ao3

Private Ares: Post || Web page || Ao3

Nassa Luvira: Post || Web page || Ao3

Katkris Pex: Post || Web page || Ao3

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[writemarcus]

Heartbeat Opera Announces 2021-2022 Season

Highlights include MESSY MESSIAH, FIDELIO, and more.

by Chloe Rabinowitz

Aug. 10, 2021  

HEARTBEAT OPERA will return to the in-person stage for its eighth season this year. Heartbeat's 2021-22 season kicks off in September with a free outdoor screening of BREATHING FREE, their visual album that connects Beethoven's Fidelio with the work of Black composers and lyricists such as Harry T. Burleigh, Langston Hughes, and Anthony Davis to manifest a dream of justice, equity, and breathing free. BREATHING FREE builds on Heartbeat's 2018 work with incarcerated singers and prison choirs, and continues its exploration of race and the American prison system. Then in December, Heartbeat's beloved annual drag extravaganza, MESSY MESSIAH, returns after six years of Halloween shenanigans for a new Christmas special. Looking ahead to winter 2022, Heartbeat plans to go on its first-ever tour, remounting its production of FIDELIO, which Joshua Barone of The New York Times called "urgent, powerful, and poignant," for seven performances across four cities, kicking off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Heartbeat will later present its pilot production of NO EVIL projects, QUANDO, ossia Project "0," which is co-produced with Long Beach Opera and refashions music from Verdi's operas La Traviata and Don Carlo and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice into a 25-minute short film. Heartbeat also continues to work on its first-ever commission, THE EXTINCTIONIST, an opera by Heartbeat Co-Music Director Daniel Schlosberg, librettist Amanda Quaid, and Heartbeat Co-Founder & Resident Director Louisa Proske. The Extinctionist wrestles with climate catastrophe and with one woman's unorthodox choice, with the goal of presenting its world premiere in winter 2023.

At the helm are Artistic Director Ethan Heard, Associate Artistic Director Derrell Acon, Co-Music Directors Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg, and Managing Director Annie Middleton. Heartbeat Opera was founded in 2014 and has since grown from an indie "start up" into an internationally recognized player, consistently hailed as a leader in envisioning the future of opera.

The 2021-22 Season

BREATHING FREE, a visual album

September 18 at Pier 63, Hudson River Park Trust At dusk A free outdoor screening with live performances (Additional future screenings TBA)

Focusing on Black empowerment in the arts

Featuring excerpts from Beethoven's Fidelio, Negro Spirituals, and songs by

Harry T. Burleigh,

Florence Price

,

Langston Hughes

,

Anthony Davis

,

Thulani Davis

Director:

Ethan Heard

Filmmaker: Anaiis Cisco

Creative Producer: Ras Dia

Co-Music Directors: Jacob Ashworth & Daniel Schlosberg

Movement Director: Emma Jaster

Watch Breathing Free Trailer

2021 Drama League Award Nominee for Outstanding Digital Concert Production

In 2018, Heartbeat collaborated with 100 incarcerated singers in six prison choirs to create a contemporary American Fidelio told through the lens of Black Lives Matter. In 2020-the year of George Floyd's murder, a pandemic which ravages our prison population, and the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth-they curated a song cycle, brought to life in vivid music videos, mingling excerpts from Fidelio with Negro Spirituals and songs by Black composers and lyricists, which together manifest a dream of justice, equity... and breathing free.

Jamilyn Manning-White in DRAGUS MAXIMUS, photo by Andrew Boyle

MESSY MESSIAH

December 16 at 8pm and December 17 at 7 and 9:30pm at Roulette in Brooklyn

Directed by

Ethan Heard

Music Directed by Jacob Ashworth

Arranged by Daniel Schlosberg

Watch WNET's ALL ARTS feature on Heartbeat's drag extravaganzas

Heartbeat's beloved annual drag opera extravaganza returns in all its glory this December. Over the past seven years, Heartbeat has presented six fabulous extravaganzas at venues across Brooklyn: Hot Mama: Singing Gays Saving Gaia; Dragus Maximus: a homersexual opera odyssey; All the World's a Drag! Shakespeare in love...with opera; Queens of the Night: Mozart in Space; Miss Handel; and Purcell's The Fairy Queen. These interdisciplinary celebrations playfully mix opera classics with pop culture and drag to create an otherworldly experience that encourages audience members to embrace opera in new ways.

This year, the show moves to December-just in time for Christmas. Featuring familiar tunes by Handel, Tchaikovsky, Berlin, and many more, this naughty pageant celebrates the holidays with wit and warmth. Expect tradition...with a peppermint twist.

Kelly Griffin in FIDELIO, photo by Russ Rowland

FIDELIO

Heartbeat's first tour

February 10, 12 & 14, 2022 at Met Live Arts, New York City February 19 at The Mondavi Center, UC Davis, California February 22 at The Scottsdale Performing Arts Center, Arizona February 26 & 27 at The Broad Stage, Santa Monica, California

Music by Ludwig van Beethoven Original libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner & Georg Friedrich Sonnleithner Adapted & Directed by Ethan Heard Arranged & Music Directed by Daniel Schlosberg New English Dialogue Co-Written by Marcus Scott & Ethan Heard Featuring Derrell Acon (Roc), Curtis Bannister (Stan), Kelly Griffin (Leah), Victoria Lawal (Marcy), Tim Mix (Pizarro) and more than 100 incarcerated singers in six prison choirs

Heartbeat was planning to take its Fidelio on tour in 2020, the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Then the pandemic hit, affecting incarcerated people especially and forcing them to postpone the tour. Then George Floyd was murdered, sparking a much-needed racial reckoning. Now, with humility and a renewed sense of purpose, Heartbeat has the opportunity to bring the tour back and even expand it. The story of their Fidelio is more urgent and timely than ever:

A Black activist is wrongfully incarcerated. His wife, Leah, disguises herself to infiltrate the system and free him. But when injustice reigns, one woman's grit may not be enough to save her love. Featuring the voices of imprisoned people, this daring adaptation pits corruption against courage, hate against hope.

Heartbeat is thrilled to continue its work on this Fidelio, updating the libretto for our current moment, deepening the company's commitment to anti-racism in all that they do, collaborating more with their prison choir partners, sharing the production, and sparking important conversations. This tour is Heartbeat's largest and most ambitious venture yet. They have the opportunity to reach thousands of new audience members, including hundreds of young people, in four cities across the country.

QUANDO, ossia Project "0"

In-person screenings w/live performances in NY and Long Beach, April 2022 A co-production with Long Beach Opera The pilot production of NO EVIL Projects

Creative Produced by Derrell Acon Music Directed and Arranged by Daniel Schlosberg In-person screenings with live performances in New York and Long Beach in April 2022 (dates TBC)

Some of the most beautiful and famous music from the operatic canon becomes the landscape for this fierce social satire of sex, activism, and the performance of everyday life. Music from Verdi's operas La Traviata and Don Carlo and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice are repurposed and refashioned into a 25-minute short film that follows a starry-eyed young couple as their night on the town unravels into a surrealist swirl of decadence, intrigue, and ultimately, vengeful justice.

The short film, a co-production with Long Beach Opera and produced by Heartbeat's newly-appointed Associate Artistic Director Derrell Acon, will be screened as is, and then followed by a second presentation that features live composer-performers actively disrupting and reconstituting the music from the score for a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. No two performances will be the same, as the ending will change with each iteration of the live performances, and audiences will be challenged to re-examine their perceptions of art and its role in societal transformation.NO EVIL is an initiative meant to create a self-replenishing fund of seed money for new projects in the opera field by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) creators. Acon is in conversation with OPERA America, the Sphinx Foundation, and other industry colleagues about the full structure of NO EVIL Projects, which has an anticipated launch of 2022.Says Acon: "As Arts Equity Specialist for the OPERA America New Works Forum, I had the opportunity to facilitate all-BIPOC adjudication panels for granting, and was deeply impressed by the nuance of perspective and intentionality centered in those discussions. I am convinced that the financial barriers experienced by marginalized creators in the field require even more attention and action-and, frankly, MONEY!"

THE EXTINCTIONIST

A new one act opera

Music by Daniel Schlosberg

Libretto by

Amanda Quaid

, based on her play

Directed, Conceived, and Developed by

Louisa Proske

Music Directed by Jacob Ashworth

World Premiere Production Coming in Winter 2023

During the 2020-21 season, Heartbeat Opera commissioned its first-ever opera, The Extinctionist, a one-act work that grapples with the catastrophic effects of climate change and one woman's unorthodox choice to sterilize herself to save the planet and become the very first "Extinctionist." The dark comedy turns one woman's body into the battlefield of our political anguish, conflicting desires, and individual responsibility.

This past May, The Exctintionist was featured in The New York Times, which chronicled Heartbeat's longtime commitment to reimagining classic works and its new expansion into commissioning. A semi-staged production of the opera was presented in May 2021 at PS21 in Chatham, New York, and the world premiere is slated for Winter 2023.

[emilieautumnarchives]

Emilie Autumn: Story

Archived from the Emilie Autumn Official website, March 17th, 2022.

~*~*~*~

Well, if you’ve ever lacquered on black nail varnish, sported striped stockings, danced to German industrial music, would commit criminal acts for a cup of tea, have a thing for electric violins, an even bigger thing for musical theatre, participated in a shadow cast of cult films set in circuses, or you love someone who has, then you’ve probably seen my mug before. If you haven’t, do see below…I didn’t write the text, but it gives a vaguely good idea of what’s going on here. ~EA, Inmate W14A

THE STORY

Internationally recognized as a world-class violinist, singer, composer, author, actor, and artist, Emilie Autumn mastered the classical violin before going on to travel the world as a highly theatrical performer. Known for her genre-bending albums Opheliac and Fight Like A Girl, Emilie has also starred in The Devil’s Carnival musical fantasy film series (alongside Adam Pascal of Broadway’s RENT fame, and Ted Neeley of the iconic film Jesus Christ Superstar). Emilie’s academic career ended abruptly at the age of ten when, as a child-prodigy violinist, she was removed from school to allow her the time to perfect her craft. Yet, despite her near-complete absence of formal education, her debut self-published novel (The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls) is cited in text-books used as part of the psychology curriculum at Oxford University, amongst other publications. Emilie's poetry, written in her teens, has been used as the basis for original works created and performed by New York's Rochester Ballet Company, using her spoken-word and classical violin work as the score. Emilie originally intended to begin and end her career as a classical soloist and composer, but gradually became aware that, in order to express herself completely, she must use her voice as well as her fingers. She soon armed herself with an electric violin, a uniquely powerful singing voice, and self-taught skills as a digital programmer able to record and produce her own albums (she has been made an official artist representative for Steinberg, creators of industry leading recording software). Upon the release of her 2007 Shakespearean-themed concept album, Opheliac, Emilie found herself an overnight star in Germany's industrial rock scene, and began touring extensively. With her flaming red hair, fetish for tightly-laced corsets, and signature heart painted on her cheek (a unifying symbol devotedly replicated by her global audience known as the "Plague Rats"), Emilie fast became a sensation throughout Europe and the United Kingdom before touring frequently through America, South America, Canada, and Russia. During this time, Emilie released several singles, EPs, a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," and a double-disc album of instrumental work, the violin extravaganza Laced/Unlaced—one disc featuring her classical work, the other her industrial-metal electric violin pyrotechnics. Then came the literary creation that would alter the course of Emilie's career and change the perception of who she was in the minds of both fans and friends—an illustrated autobiographical/historical fantasy novel weighing in at nearly five pounds: The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. Diagnosed first with major depression in her early 20s and later with bipolar disorder, Emilie’s novel was culled from the very real pages of the secret journal she kept whilst incarcerated in a mental hospital. The tale takes an unexpected turn when, whilst still in the psych ward, Emilie discovers evidence of a parallel dimension—a world that soon becomes indiscernible from her own. As the days drift on, the seemingly disparate worlds of the story's two lead characters (Emilie and Emily, her Victorian counterpart) begin to merge. The Asylum... is a profoundly moving saga of suffering, sisterhood, and revenge that has empowered thousands of young readers to victoriously end their battle with self-harm, and to create communities wherein they can support one another and cultivate pride in what makes them different. Emilie has held hundreds of book readings and performed scenes from the book around the world, often asking her listeners to join in and act out the scenes themselves. Since it's release, The Asylum... novel continues to increase in popularity as Plague Rats around the globe cover themselves in tattoos from its elaborate art, cosplay as its varied characters (both human and animal), write their own fan-fiction, put on their own stage plays taking place in the Asylum world, and incorporate Emilie's story into their own lives in virtually every imaginable way. Aiding the phenomenon, the famed Vans Warped Tour featured Emilie Autumn's Asylum Experience, in which festival-goers enjoyed an interactive, day-long immersive theatre installation in Emilie's signature environment. Emilie is currently at work composing the Broadway-bound musical version of The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, and is constantly releasing music from the musical, most notably the new album The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls: Behind the Musical, now available everywhere. All the while, Emilie’s visual art has been developing wildly. She made her public debut at 2021’s Art Basel, where she showcased her mixed media works wherein she transforms the medical materials of nightmares into beautiful and empowering works of stunning cultural sophistication, with each piece being named after one of her song lyrics.

[writemarcus]

Heartbeat Opera Announces The 2021-2022 Season

August 10, 2021 

Maria A. Rodriguez

On Heartbeat Opera Announces The 2021-2022 Season

HEARTBEAT OPERA will return to the stage for its eighth season this year. Heartbeat’s 2021-22 season kicks off in September with a free outdoor screening of BREATHING FREE, their visual album that connects Beethoven’s Fidelio with the work of black composers and lyricists such as Harry T. Burleigh, Langston Hughes and Anthony Davis to manifest a dream of justice, fairness and free breathing. BREATHING FREE builds on Heartbeat’s work in 2018 with incarcerated singers and prison choirs, and continues its exploration of race and the American prison system. Then in December, MESSY MESSIAH, Heartbeat’s beloved annual drag extravaganza, returns after six years of Halloween shenanigans for a new Christmas special. Looking ahead to winter 2022, Heartbeat plans to make its very first tour, reviving its production of FIDELIO, which the New York Times’ Joshua Barone called “urgent, powerful and poignant”, for seven performances in four cities, kick off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Heartbeat will later present its pilot production of projects NO EVIL, QUANDO, ossia Project “0”, which is co-produced with Long Beach Opera and reshapes the music of Verdi’s operas La Traviata and Don Carlo and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice in 25 short minutes. footage. Heartbeat also continues to work on its very first commission, THE EXTINCTIONIST, an opera by Heartbeat musical co-director Daniel Schlosberg, librettist Amanda Quaid and Heartbeat co-founder and resident director Louisa Proske. The Extinctionist is fighting climate catastrophe and one woman’s unorthodox choice, with the aim of presenting its world premiere in the winter of 2023.

At the helm are Artistic Director Ethan Heard, Associate Artistic Director Derrell Acon, Musical Co-Directors Jacob Ashworth and Daniel Schlosberg, and General Manager Annie Middleton. Heartbeat Opera was founded in 2014 and has since grown from an independent “start-up” to an internationally renowned player, always hailed as a leader in visioning the future of opera.

The 2021-22 season

BREATHING FREE, a visual album

September 18 at Pier 63, Hudson River Park Trust At dusk A free outdoor screening with live performances (Next additional screenings to be determined)

Focus on empowering black people in the arts With excerpts from Beethoven’s Fidelio, Negro Spirituals and songs by Harry T. Burleigh, Florence Price, Langston Hughes, Anthony Davis, Thulani Davis

Director: Ethan Heard Director: Anaiis Cisco Creative producer: Ras Dia Musical co-directors: Jacob Ashworth & Daniel Schlosberg Director of the movement: Emma Jaster

Watch the trailer without breathing

Nominated for the 2021 Drama League Award for Outstanding Digital Concert Production

In 2018, Heartbeat collaborated with 100 singers incarcerated in six prison choirs to create a contemporary American Fidelio told through the lens of Black Lives Matter. In 2020 – the year of George Floyd’s murder, a pandemic ravaging our prison population, and the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth – they organized a cycle of songs, animated by live music videos, mingling excerpts from Fidelio with Negro Spirituals and songs from Black Composers and Lyricists, which together manifest a dream of justice, fairness … and free breathing.

Jamilyn Manning-White in DRAGUS MAXIMUS, photo by Andrew Boyle

MESSIAH DISORDER

December 16 at 8 p.m. and December 17 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. roulette in Brooklyn

Directed by Ethan Heard Music conducted by Jacob Ashworth Arranged by Daniel Schlosberg

Watch WNET’s ALL ARTS feature on Heartbeat’s Drag Extravagances

Heartbeat’s beloved annual drag opera extravaganza returns in all its glory this December. Over the past seven years, Heartbeat has presented six fabulous extravagances in Brooklyn venues: Hot Mama: Singing Gays Saving Gaia; Dragus Maximus: a homosexual opera odyssey; Everyone is a drag! Shakespeare in love … with opera; Queens of the Night: Mozart in Space; Miss Handel; and Purcell’s Fairy Queen. These interdisciplinary celebrations playfully blend opera classics with pop culture and drag to create an otherworldly experience that encourages audience members to embrace opera in a new way.

This year the show moves to December, just in time for Christmas. With familiar tunes from Handel, Tchaikovsky, Berlin and many more, this naughty show celebrates the holidays with wit and warmth. Expect tradition … with a touch of peppermint.

Kelly Griffin in FIDELIO, photo by Russ Rowland

FIDELIO

Heartbeat’s First Tour

February 10, 12 and 14, 2022 at the Met Live Arts, New York City February 19 at the Mondavi Center, UC Davis, California February 22 at the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center, Arizona February 26 and 27 at the Broad Stage, Santa Monica, California

Music by Ludwig van Beethoven Original libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner & Georg Friedrich Sonnleithner Adapted and directed by Ethan Heard Arrangements and music conducted by Daniel Schlosberg New dialogue in English co-written by Marcus Scott and Ethan Heard With Derrell Acon (Roc), Curtis Bannister (Stan), Kelly Griffin (Leah), Victoria Lawal (Marcy), Tim Mix (Pizarro) and more than 100 singers imprisoned in six prison choirs

Heartbeat planned to run its Fidelio in 2020, on the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Then the pandemic struck, particularly affecting the incarcerated and forcing them to postpone the tour. Then George Floyd was assassinated, triggering a much needed racial calculation. Now, with humility and a renewed sense of purpose, Heartbeat has the opportunity to bring the tour back and even expand it. The story of their Fidelio is more urgent and current than ever:

A black activist is wrongly imprisoned. His wife, Leah, disguises herself to infiltrate the system and free it. But when injustice reigns, a woman’s courage may not be enough to save her love. Featuring the voices of imprisoned people, this daring adaptation pits corruption against courage, hatred against hope.

Heartbeat is excited to continue their work on this Fidelio, updating the booklet for our current moment, deepening the company’s commitment to anti-racism in everything it does, collaborating more with its prison choir partners, sharing the production and sparking important conversations. This tour is Heartbeat’s biggest and most ambitious endeavor to date. They have the opportunity to reach thousands of new audience members, including hundreds of young people, in four cities across the country.

QUANDO, ossia Project “0”

In-person screenings with live performances in New York and Long Beach, April 2022 A co-production with Long Beach Opera The pilot production of NO EVIL Projects

Creative produced by Derrell Acon Music conducted and arranged by Daniel Schlosberg In-person screenings with live performances in New York and Long Beach in April 2022 (date to be confirmed)

Some of the most beautiful and famous music in the opera canon becomes the landscape for this fierce social satire of sex, activism, and everyday performance. Music from Gluck’s Verdi La Traviata and Don Carlo and Orfeo ed Euridice operas is repurposed and transformed into a 25-minute short film that follows a young couple with starry eyes as their night on the town unfolds in a surreal whirlwind of decadence , intrigue and ultimately, a vengeful justice.

The short, a co-production with Long Beach Opera and produced by Heartbeat’s new Associate Artistic Director, Derrell Acon, will be screened as is, followed by a second screening featuring live songwriters disrupting and actively re-enacting the music. of the score for a unique theatrical experience. No two performances will be the same, as the ending will change with each iteration of the live performances, and audiences will be challenged to reexamine their perception of art and its role in transforming society.

NO EVIL is an initiative to create a self-replenishing seed fund for new opera projects by the creators of BIPOC (black, indigenous and other people of color). Acon is in conversation with OPERA America, the Sphinx Foundation, and other industry colleagues about the full structure of NO EVIL Projects, which is slated to launch in 2022.

Acon states, “As the Equity in the Arts Specialist for the OPERA America New Works Forum, I have had the opportunity to facilitate the adjudication committees of all BIPOCs for the award, and have was deeply impressed by the nuance of perspective and intentionality centered in these discussions. I am convinced that the financial barriers faced by marginalized creators in the field require even more attention and action – and, frankly, MONEY! “

THE EXTINCTIONIST

A new opera in one act

Music by Daniel Schlosberg Libretto by Amanda Quaid, after her play Directed, designed and developed by Louisa Proske Music conducted by Jacob Ashworth

World premiere production coming in winter 2023

In the 2020-21 season, Heartbeat Opera commissioned its very first opera, The Extinctionist, a one-act work that deals with the catastrophic effects of climate change and a woman’s unorthodox choice to sterilize to save the planet. and become the very first “Fire extinguisher.” Dark comedy turns a woman’s body into a battleground of our political anxieties, our conflicting desires, and our individual responsibility.

Last May, The Exctintionist was featured in The New York Times, which chronicled Heartbeat’s long-standing commitment to reinventing classic works and its further expansion in commissioning. A semi-staged production of the opera premiered in May 2021 at PS21 in Chatham, New York, and the world premiere is slated for winter 2023.

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