The Weight of Light

Saturday, April 27, 2024 @ 7:30PM

Music by Gillian Rae Perry
Libretto by Marcus Amaker

Vanguard Opera | Concert Premiere

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#COTLIGHT

Epiphany Center for
the Arts

60 minutes

English
with English surtitles

You might like this if…

Disney Pixar’s Inside Out makes you cry
Multimedia performances combining music and film are your jam

Or

You want to walk away with an appreciation for what makes you unique

The ~Vibe~

Generational Stories, Atmospheric Soundscape, Magical Realism

The Story

COT premieres its fifth full-length opera developed and commissioned as part of its industry-leading Vanguard Initiative. When a child inherits a magical ability which allows them to speak with objects, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Their mother, who shares the same ability, does not see it as a gift but as a source of shame. Both child and parent learn to navigate their powers and the responsibilities that come with them in this heartwarming original coming-of-age story.

What is the Epiphany Center?

Through a creative adaptive reuse, developers and husband and wife team David Chase & Kimberly Rachal turned a former 1885 Episcopal church on Chicago’s West Side into an arts center for visual, performing and culinary arts.

Chase and Rachal adapted the former church’s interior, exterior and its 1953 parish building for the purposes of the arts center and made the structures 100% ADA accessible.

The space is now home to an eclectic collection of art galleries, resident artist studios, classroom spaces, four performing arts venues and three event spaces!

Where is it?

Located on the edge of the vibrant West Loop neighborhood, The Epiphany Center is at
201 S Ashland Avenue.

Is there parking?

It’s very easy to get to the Epiphany Center! There are two “Pay To Park” lots located within a half block of Epiphany at 1608 W. Adams and 1640 W. Jackson, in addition to ample metered and unmetered parking surrounding the Center. To find and reserve a space check out SpotHero.

Via public transportation, Epiphany is:

0.5 miles south of the Ashland Pink/Green Line L train stop
0.4 miles northwest of the Racine Blue L train stop
Closest to the #9 Ashland & Adams bus stop, #20 Madison & Ashland bus stop, #126 Van Buren & Ashland, and the Jackson & Laflin Express

Though there is a lot to say about The Weight of Light, I find myself returning to three main ingredients for the piece:

1. During early conversations, Marcus and I agreed we were both interested in telling the story of a parent and a child. We both had been put into life circumstances in which we were considering the roles of parents and children, and the ways that this relationship develops especially when confronted with inherited similarities - both positive and negative.

2. Marcus and I both find a lot of joy in exploring the magic in the world. Lately, I have been considering what the objects in my life mean to me. I have some espresso cups from my grandmother that sit on my kitchen table. I know that these little cups have seen things that I never have. They spent a lot of time with my grandmother. I find myself wondering, what would this cup say to me, if it could talk? What sort of stories could it tell me about my grandmother? Or even about my grandfather, who I never had the chance to meet?

3. I have been thinking a lot about platonic love and the way that friendship can heal many wounds. I am forever grateful for the ways that my friends have taught me how to love myself.

Creating The Weight of Light has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Thank you for being here.

Gillian Rae Perry, Vanguard Composer

Gillian Rae Perry
Photo by Joe Mazza

To me, The Weight of Light is a work that celebrates radical acceptance. We live in a culture that tells us “being different is weird” while defining what “different” means. It’s a trap, because there’s not much room for us in mainstream society to be our true selves without it being labeled as “strange.”

That unnecessary label, while not inherently negative, can be the root cause of trauma. I wanted to write a story that showed the grace in all of it. The Weight of Light is about loving the parts of ourselves that society wants us to shadow. Let’s bring each other into light, shall we?

We are more alike than we are different. The things that make us unique are different color threads in a universal fabric - not something to shun, but something to celebrate.

When Gillian and I first met, we had a shared love of music, mental health, self care, and “experimental” art. We gave each other the space we needed to create this work. I’m so thankful to have such a loving, real, and collaborative partner in this endeavor.

My hope is that you will feel some sort of healing through The Weight of Light.

Through self reflection, and her relationship with Trevor, Emily is able to heal the deep wounds held by her mother.

Thank you all for being here and experiencing it.

p.s. Jeopardy trivia question: one of the main characters of the opera, Emily, is named after Emily A. Sprague of Florist.

Marcus Amaker, Librettist