After successful performances in 2016 in Alaska and Canada, and more performances in 2018 in The Netherlands, the monodrama The Child behind the Eyes (Nava Semel), for which I wrote the music, will continue to Nova Scotia. This time, director Vivian Melde and actress Nava Sarracino will present without me being present, as I am still traveling in South-East Asia. They will present six performances at the 29th Halifax Fringe Festival. The Fringe is 11 days, over 10 venues, over 55 productions, performing over 350 individual performances!
The play they’ll present is that of a mother whose son is born with Down syndrome. The night before his first day of school, the mother, in her restlessness, explores her memories of the first six years of his life. The main character, Yotam, innocent, and open hearted, becomes the source of love to all members of the family. In fact, he is the one who teaches them all a new meaning of life.
Always the wanderer, I read the script for The Child Behind The Eyes while in Mexico where, from my remote and solar powered studio, I wrote the first draft of what would become the title song for the Alaskan/Canadian production of Nava Semel’s play. I first released this title song in Yiddish as Viglid. Subsequently playwright Nava Semel adapted the lyrics into Hebrew, continuing the multilingual tradition characteristic of her work, which lead to Shir Eres. For good measure, and since the Alaskan/Canadian production was performed in English, I produced a third version, entitled Lullaby. Read More
Below, last years’ performance of Nava Sarracino to my “Lullaby” at the Crea Theater in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.