A Millenial Death Epoch
Trinity College and The Cherry Arts Collective
Dublin, Ireland and Ithaca, NY
2019 - present
Emma began developing her multi-media Opera in residency at Trinity College, Dublin produced by Hillary Dziminski. This was followed by a reading and subsequent workshop at the Cherry Arts Collective produced by Erica Steinhagen. She recently received a Community Arts and Partnership (CAP) grant to hire an orchestrator and further develop the music in the show.
“Many millennials gained access to the internet in their teens and they started their twenties in an age of unprecedented environmental decline - this rapid growth and destruction is the backdrop of the show. The story follows Míng Yuè and Jada. They are half-sisters who were separated when they were young due to the death of their mother. Míng Yuè lives in Beijing while Jada lives in the Bay Area. At the beginning of the show we meet a very pregnant Jada facetiming with her half-sister. Míng’s next
semester of college will be in West Valley College (a semester abroad) - this will allow her to help take care of the new baby. Soon after this, we meet Jada’s best friend Donna. Donna lost a baby a year ago and is wrestling with her feelings about Jada’s pregnancy. Donna seems tied to the earth (the graveyard) and her lost child, Míng has put nearly all of her feelings into her animations and her Tumblr posts - she’s placed herself in relation to the internet - while Jada struggles to connect with her baby. The intense feelings that come with the loss of a child, reuniting family members, a new baby, moving to a foreign country, and a new love move these women to rely on each other - they become a found family. A Millennial Death Epoch explores what we do after the big moments. It is a play that centers grief, renewal and community in the age of the internet.”
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
@Emma Plotkin