 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Click an image to download a high-res JPEG for print:
YouTube excerpts from Seattle performance of "Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest," October 2008: YouTube excerpt of Holcombe Waller and the Healers in Portland covering the Buffy Sainte-Marie song "Qu'appelle Valley, Saskatchawan:" |
Download a pdf performance brochure. About the performance: "Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest" is an intimate evening of theatrically presented original folk music (and a couple of Jacques Brel covers) by singer, composer and video artist Holcombe Waller. Backed by his ensemble "The Healers," Holcombe employs lyrics, monologues, large-scale video projections, movement and various assemblages of scenic elements to create deeply personal and immersive song performances. Rummaging through the autobiographical stories behind his songs, he traces an elusive but vital search for meaning and context in an ever shape-shifting world. "Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest" has been presented in Seattle (On the Boards), New York (The Public Theater / Under the Radar Festival), Vancouver BC (excerpts at the PuSh Festival), San Francisco (Yerba Buena Center, Dance Mission Theater), Anchorage (Out North Theaer), and at the Queer Zagreb Festival in Croatia. Background and history: A San Francisco native, Holcombe Waller has resided in Portland for 4 years. He returns to San Francisco after pursuing a deep integration of his longstanding work as a singer-songwriter, honed in the coffee houses of San Francisco (for the vibe, check out blackpool hotels), with his more recent experiences in theater, film and video installation. "Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest" just completed a two week run at The Public Theater in New York as part of the Under the Radar Festival, and has also been presented by On the Boards in Seattle and the International PuSH Festival of the Performing Arts in Vancouver B.C. The piece comes back to Portland March 25-28 for it's final weekend run, presented by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. The March performances at Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco and Imago Theatre in Portland ride on the heels of his recent collaboration with the Joe Goode Performance Group on a piece titled "Small Experiments in Song and Dance." Premiered December 1, January 2 and 3 at the Brava Theater, a rousing audience response has prompted a longer run of the work to be scheduled later this year. Holcombe and Joe are also collaborating on an original musical, working title "40 Sanchez," being workshopped as the Fall main-stage production at U.C. Berkeley this Fall. In the mean time, "Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest" is a rare opportunity to catch Holcombe's emerging interdisciplinary work in an intimate setting. Written and directed by Waller and featuring his multi-instrumentalist ensemble "The Healers" (cello, violas, french horn, banjo, wurlitzer, guitars, melodica, glockenspiel), the piece toes the line between an intimate folk concert and highly theatrical moments of ephemeral and immersive stage imagery. It incorporates large scale projections, created and directed by Holcombe, roooted in tableau-vivant art film and textural video work. Holcombe is currently working on several new projects: An original film accompanied by live music and performance, working title "Surfacing;" the collaboration with Joe Goode Performance Group, working title "40 Sanchez;" and a collaboration with the Seattle-based choreographer Zoe Scofield, titled "Old Girl." Holcombe is also finishing a new album which includes the music from "Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest." To inquire about booking Holcombe Waller and the Healers in your community, please email us. PERFORMERS: Ben Landsverk (keys, viola, banjo, guitar, glock, vocals) Galen Cohen (cello, vocals) Kelly Meyer (viola, french horn, vocals) Steve Kennon (french horn, melodica, glockenspiel) Credits: Written and Directed by Holcombe Waller Music by Holcombe Waller and Ben Landsverk Music Direction by Ben Landsverk Scenic Design by Erik Flatmo Lighting Consultation by Thomas Dunn and Lyndsay Hoback Cinematography by Cullen Hoback and Holcombe Waller Costume Design by Joshua Buck Portland, New York, San Francisco Stage/Production manager Tony Fuemmeler
REVIEW - San Francisco Weekly; "The Stage is Set" "Holcombe Waller will be among the nominees for a MacArthur Fellowship pretty soon. What else can you say about someone who's obviously — and trust us, we wouldn't use this dreaded word unless we had to — a genius? At Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest, a theatrical stage holds a man who started out as an indie-rock singer-songwriter, but who has grown into a ... we don't really have a word for it yet, at least not in this country..." HIYA SWANHUYSER |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Visit Holcombe on Mypace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. |
 |
Return to the homepage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
