Moving Day

The DCS Website is Dead!
Long live the DCS Website!

Just a quick post to announce that we're shutting down the Dead Composers Society Blogger page and moving the whole operation to our very own website, http://deadcomposerssociety.org! Be sure to head there for news and information about upcoming productions (of which there are several).

Keep even more up-to-date with DCS by following us on Facebook and Twitter, or drop us a note at info [at] deadcomposerssociety [dot] org. Thanks for your support!

Dead Composers Society Returns to the Fringe!

Photo copyright 2009 Clare Pix Photography www.clarepix.com

We are thrilled to announce that the Dead Composers Society will be returning to the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2010! Last year's production of Two Short Operas: Mr. Berman's Bath-Size Bar and There's a Mastodon In My Backyard smashed all expectations, performing at over 100% capacity through five shows and earning the coveted sixth performance slot for the top-selling show at each venue. Can we follow up last year's upstart sensation with an even better showing in 2010? Stay tuned here and at www.FringeFestival.org to find out! The Fringe Festival runs from August 5-15, 2010 at venues throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Details for Tonya & Nancy: The Opera!

Photo by Ty Sassaman

Next week, Dead Composers Society will be teaming up with Mixed Precipitation for the Midwest premiere of Tonya & Nancy: The Opera! Join us for an evening of Olympic-sized fun as we relive the 1994 figure skating scandal that captivated the nation! Each evening features two performances of the 30-minute opera sandwiched around a viewing of the Olympic women's figure skating competition live from Vancouver, and will include trivia, figure skating lessons (figure skates not necessary!), and beverages available for purchase. For more information and directions, visit Bedlam Theatre, Camp Bar, Mixes Precipitation, or our Facebook page.

DETAILS:

WHAT: Tonya & Nancy: The Opera; music by Abigail Al-Doory Cross and libretto by Elizabeth Searle

WHO: Mixed Precipitation and Dead Composers Society team up to create an evening of opera, figure skating and Olympic fun!

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 6:30pm and 8:30pm in the Fireplace Lounge at Bedlam Theatre and Thursday, Feb. 25 at 6:30pm and 8:30pm at Camp Bar in the Cabaret

WHERE: Bedlam Theatre at 1501 S 6th St, Minneapolis; and Camp Bar at 490 Roberts St N, St. Paul

TICKETS/RESERVATIONS: Visit mixedprecipitation.wordpress.com or call 612.619.2112 for additional information. Seating is general admission and a suggested voluntary donation of $5-10 will be collected at each performance.

Tonya and Nancy: the Opera in February!

Our next project is a co-production with Mixed Precipitation, a Minenapolis-based performance initiative dedicated to exploring text, space and form.

This will mark the Midwest premiere of Tonya and Nancy: the Opera, written by librettist Elizabeth Searle and composer Abigail Al-Doory Cross.

Performances will be the third week in February; stay tuned for details!

Preview of "Two Short Operas" from the Fringe-for-All 2009

A short preview of "Two Short Operas," as presented in the Fringe-for-All 2009 Showcase

"Two Short Operas" - the surprise hit of the 2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival!

"Two Short Operas" played to sold out houses for all performances at the 2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival and was awarded a coveted Fringe Encore performance.

The buzz...

• Named a "Must-See Show" by Ron Hubbard of the St Paul Pioneer Press
• Featured in City Pages' Gimme Noise blog
• Review of the opening night performance at MinnPost.com
• Featured in a Minnesota Public Radio story on the Fringe Festival

2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival Show!

© 2009 Clare Pix Photography www.clarepix.com

The Dead Composers Society was founded in 2008 to provide young singers and musicians in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with performing opportunities.

We are excited to be a part of the 2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival, where we will be presenting Two Short Operas: Mr. Berman's Bath-Size Bar & There's a Mastodon in My Backyard. More information and tickets are available on the Minnesota Fringe Festival website.

Opera? At the Fringe? Yes! It's in English. It's funny. None of the singers weigh 300 lbs. The Dead Composers Society, a Twin Cities-based group of young musicians, presents two short comic (and a little absurd) operas by Minneapolis composer Stephen Houtz. Based on a combination of popular urban legends, the operas explore the ridiculous side of human interaction.

Mr. Berman's Bath-Size Bar follows the correspondence between the staff of a London hotel and an increasingly-exasperated resident on a futile quest to use his own personal bar of soap. In There's a Mastodon in My Backyard, a wealthy and eccentric woman's discovery of what appear to be ancient fossils in her backyard sets off a chain reaction of excitement, skepticism, and scientific fervor within the ranks of the Smithsonian Institute - but the action becomes a race against time when the woman reveals her own plans for the bones. Directed by Robert Neu
Accompaniment and Music Direction by Andrew Fleser


Thu., Jul. 30 @ 8:30 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 2 @ 4:00 p.m. (audio described)
Tue., Aug. 4 @ 8:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 7 @ 10:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 8 @ 5:30 p.m.


Playwrights' Center 2301 Franklin Ave E Minneapolis, MN 55406