INTERVIEW: ‘Iceland,’ a new opera theater work, will premiere at La MaMa
Photo: Iceland, created by O-Lan Jones and Emmett Tinley, will play La MaMa in Downtown Manhattan. Photo courtesy of the artists / Provided by Michelle Tabnick PR with permission.
The new opera theater piece known as Iceland has an appropriate secondary title: a re-Creation Myth. The work, which was created by O-Lan Jones and Emmett Tinley, will play Downtown Manhattan’s La MaMa starting on March 24. Performances continue until April 2.
The show, presented by Overtone Industries, is billed as a contemporary love story that takes a deep dive into Icelandic mythology. Two central figures are featured in the narrative: Vala, a disillusioned architect, and Mundi, a wilderness guide who is haunted by a past climbing accident, according to press notes. As these two characters consider their pasts and futures, all while atop a glacier in Iceland, they begin to meet mythical creatures called the Hiddenfolk.
All told, the piece employs the artistry of 14 performers, plus an 11-piece chamber orchestra. Both Jones, the founder of Overtone Industries, and Tinley, an Irish singer-songwriter, are credited as composers and writers of Iceland. Jones also directs.
Recently Jones exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about the La MaMa premiere. The work is something of a homecoming for the multi-hyphenate, who first appeared on La MaMa’s stage in 1968. For the unbeknownst, Jones is major force in the world of experimental performance, leaving a great impact in music, theater and opera. She has worked with many esteemed companies, including Padua Hills Playwrights, LA Woman’s Shakespeare Company, the Taper Too, Playwrights Horizons and Bay Area Shakespeare Festival, among others. Her TV and film credits are numerous and include Edward Scissorhands, Natural Born Killers, The Truman Show and The X Files.
Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audiences expect from Iceland?
We are creating two worlds, the contemporary world of two people who meet at an airport, and the ancient timeless (typically unseen) world that moves them and wants to re-connect. This is a multidisciplinary work in two acts — an evening of opposites coming together, raucous dance and musical reveries, Hiddenfolk, and a towering giant, a fiery dragon and being lost on the glacial ice.
How closely does the narrative follow actual Icelandic mythology?
The heart of the story came first, and the mythology came to meet us, providing the Hiddenfolk and the Landvaettir, the Beings of the Land. There is no attempt to retell any particular Icelandic myth. Rather, the story takes several characters from the mythology and uses them to illustrate the dilemmas and dangers that each of our two protagonists face in their lives and on their journeys. The Hiddenfolk in particular serve to point [out] the disconnect between modern human societies and the natural world that they are embedded in.
Is the show contemporary, even though it’s using myth as a storytelling device?
The show is set in the present, but as it progresses we very quickly move away from the signposts of the contemporary world and into an otherworld, which is also of the now.The concerns of the protagonists remain rooted in today and, more importantly, tomorrow.
For the unbeknownst, how would you define opera theater?
An opportunity to frolic and dive into poetic language and movement, and approach deep themes using the genuine insight of acting and the power of music to tell our story.
Is it difficult to organize 14 ensemble members and 11 musicians in the orchestra? Does the sheer number of artists present challenges?
We are creating a vibrant ensemble so they have the ability to move around beautifully of their own volition and maintain a connection and shape amongst themselves. The musicians have the scores to play and our wonderful Musical Director/Conductor Robert Kahn knows all the nooks and crannies of the music and has a special gift for bringing it to life.
What’s it like to partner with La MaMa?
Mia Yoo, the artistic director, has not only honored Ellen Stewart’s legacy, she has evolved and developed it. There is a wonderful atmosphere of freedom and creativity. And the rehearsal studios have history soaked into the floorboards, some of it is even mine — I rehearsed there and performed at La MaMa when I was a teenager. It is a homecoming.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Iceland, created by O-Lan Jones and Emmett Tinley, plays March 24 to April 2 at La MaMa in Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
