An exploding clock, a whispering fly, a secret code embedded in a collection of household objects…
In this multimedia music-theater work, an elderly entomologist and her young doppelganger investigate the ineffable fallout of a secret war.

text by Stephanie Fleischmann
music by Christina Campanella
directed by Mallory Catlett, video by Peter Norrman and Mirit Tal
environment designed by Jim Findlay, lighting by Miranda Hardy
costumes by Olivera Gajic

with
Black-Eyed Susan, Jesse Hawley, Chris Lee
Christina Campanella (accordion, keys, vox)
Sammy Baker (drums, uke, bass), Eric Schoen-René (cello)
 

production

• Premiere: HERE Arts Center, NY, 2009
• Noorderzon Festival, Groningen, NL, 2009
• EMPAC, Troy NY, 2010
 

development

• HARP (HERE Artist Residency) 2007–2009
• LMCC Swingspace, 2008–9
• Digital Performance Institute: Digital Residency, 2007–8
• Prelude ’07
• Chocolate Factory (Fresh Meat Festival), 2006
• Chashama, 2005
• Avantgardarama/PS 122, 2004
• BRIC, 2004
 

support

2 NYSCA Individual Artist Commissions (libretto & film/video); Greenwall Foundation; Tobin Foundation; Mid-Atlantic Arts Fund; New York State Music Fund; AMC CAP; Meet the Composer, David Bohnett Foundation

press
 

Loss Across Generations and Within a Moment  The New York Times
“Moody, driving music…, lyrical monologues, otherworldly videos and an ingeniously eerie set…a purposefully elusive work, a poetic meditation.”
 

An Ominous and Beautiful Dream  Dagblad van het Noorden Groningen, NL
“…you, as the audience, have undergone a mysterious experience, one that appeals to your emotional faculties. You have been part of a fantastic journey and your sense of wonder has been engaged.”
 

The Curious Red Fly Takes Wing at Here  The Village Voice
“…Sweetly strange…a complete, unique universe…. Red Fly/Blue Bottle just might generate some buzz.”
 

Red Fly/Blue Bottle—Genre Buster  13 Sunday Arts/NYC Arts
“Red Fly’s many layers of overarching themes and elements overlap, reveal, and eventually accrue to form a unique and lasting vision in each viewer’s mind. It’s too bad that “music-theater” simply doesn’t do justice to it—much like calling Anna Karenina ‘words on paper.’”
 

Red Fly/Blue Bottle  New York Press
“A mesmerizing fusion of performance art and multisensory installation….a compelling meditation on time and the agonies of waiting for a reunion that may never come.”
 

Red Fly/Blue Bottle  Flavorpill
“A devastating look at loss guided by pulsating, memorable songs… overwhelmingly rewarding.”
 

The Voyage In  Brooklyn Rail
“There is no “ordinary wondering” here, despite lyrics to the contrary. It is all extraordinary. The characters want to stop time, but the author actually does it. Each song is a meditation on a moment. The moment is drawn out, lengthened, examined, illuminated, somehow made more beautiful by being looked at so carefully.

“Look closer,” Clarissa urges herself. Experience more deeply, these artists seem to urge their audiences. Seeing and seeking are more important than knowing. Journeys are more interesting than destinations. Embrace mystery. Intuit instead.”
 

Crazy, Creepy, Cool  Bust
“…Eye candy, fantastically creepy music, and an expert dash of steampunk fill the stage in this deliciously haunting concert… They’re a ridiculously talented group…”
 

Culturebot.com
“Christina Campanella’s music is lovely and haunting, Stephanie Fleischmann’s writing is elliptical and intriguing, Mallory Catlett’s direction is as comprehensive and nuanced as ever, completely creating a hermetic dreamscape world.”
 

‘Red Fly/Blue Bottle’ Layers Memories in a Multi-media Musical  Albany Times Union
 

‘The Matter of Memory’ Obscene Jester.com
“Stephanie Fleischmann and Christina Campanella have pieced together a haunting performance through the use of wistful poetry and dark quirky music....The entire production team, performers and designers alike, is a force to be reckoned with … Red Fly becomes a wonderful touchstone for intelligent and moving multimedia pieces, and I certainly expect big things from this promising team.”
 

The Free George
Visually stunning….striking imagery…trancelike songs. ….reminiscent of early multimedia conceptual rock concerts, such as The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis, …. Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon…and Neil Young’s Greendale concerts.
 

Radio show w/live interview: WFMU