What’s to love about this Butterfly v. 1

We’re about half-way through the rehearsal process for our new adaptation of THE BUTTERFLY’S EVIL SPELL and so checked in with some of the creatives with a few questions. Here’s our first collection of answers!

JESSY JULIANNA: Doña Escarabajo, et al

Blogsite: Is there a quote from the show standing out to you now that you’re at the halfway mark in creation? 

JJ: “Poet, tell mankind that love grows with as much intensity in all planes of life. That the rhythm of the leaf rocked by the wind is the same as that of the distant star and that the words spoken by the fountain in the shade are spoken in the same way by the sea.” – Prologue

Blogsite: what you are most excited about audiences experiencing?

JJ: I’m really excited for audiences to enter this world and see life through the eyes of these creatures we don’t ever give a second thought to. This play has a way of talking about time in a way that makes us very aware of what a gift it is and it connects us all as living beings. These bugs, to some degree marvel at their everyday world and talk about the things we take for granted into these large and wondrous things (sunrise, the breeze, dew drops)  I think that’s one of the things I love the most. It makes the “ordinary” into extraordinary and it really puts a magnifying glass into being truly present in this world while we are here. If an audience member walks away contemplating on how magical a dew drop actually is then that’s pretty awesome! 

MELÍA LORENZ: Negromántica, et al

One of my favorite lines in the show:
“Why rush the ash when time conspires?” This is the final line in the song Time Will Burn Them Out
 
This line is a reflection on the importance of patience and understanding the natural order of things. It suggests that rushing or trying to force a situation can be counterproductive when circumstances are inherently against you. In essence, the saying is a reminder to be patient, trust the process, and not force things that are destined to unfold at their own pace. It suggests that trying to manipulate or rush a situation that is inherently dependent on time and circumstance can lead to unintended consequences or even failure.
 
What a life lesson to think about…
 
What I’m really enjoying about developing the Negromántica and the Worm in Love is just how differently they experience the world. It’s been exciting going from singing about the eventual death of everything to immediately exploring the idea that love is all around us. This contrast isn’t just fun for me as an actor; I think it also gives the audience some really interesting and varied viewpoints. It’s also great to play two characters that I feel I connect with in different ways.
 

JEREMY DOUGLASS: Composer, additional lyrics, keys

“Time will burn them out.” I liked this so much I wrote a whole original song about it:
 
Do not call the flame, my love
Do not waste its breath.
The wind already hums its hunger, the roots already drink our death.
The house you wish to burn has bones of dust and aching beams.
Let the years undo the mortar, et the rain unthread the seams.
The rose you crush with eager hands would crumble softer in the frost.
The river never fights the mountain, yet wears it down until it’s lost.
The wolf is patient in the dusk, the moon still gnaws the tallest spire.
Why burn the thing that waits to crumble?
Why rush the ash when time conspires?
I’m really eager to see the response to this as it’s not quite a musical but also not quite just a straight play. I really enjoy things that blur lines and I’m optimistic about how it’s going to be received. 

DAVID JENKINS: Director

Man, finding a single quote is rough, heh. There are a few in Curio’s last speech that hit me pretty hard. The young beetle is a poet, for sure:
 
“Have you no heart — 
Did the light from my words not burn your flesh?”
 
and just a bit later …
 
“Why, if the fresh water can have shadow in the summer,
And the night’s fog disappear under the eyes of the stars,
Why can my soul not have love?”
 
And that really gets directly at what I am excited about people experiencing in this show, what I felt when I first encountered it: how intensely it speaks to, I think, literally anyone who has ever, ever loved. Especially those of us who have loved and not had it returned, or loved and hidden it because we felt unworthy or shame or fear. García Lorca was 20 when he wrote this, his very first attempt at playwriting which sort of embarrassed him in a way for the rest of his life but it is so raw and honest and soulful. And he puts all this in the mouthpiece of the “lowest of the low” — bugs! Add to that all this original music and choreography and puppets and stagecraft and even a healthy dose of laughs throughout — I hope this is just a great escape for folks. Lord knows we all need it. 
 

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