Carnelian
celebration barn theater (2023)
philadelphia fringe festival (2023)
2023
40 minutes
Carnelian is an eclectic musical work for screen and stage written by Lex Brown and co-composed by Samuel Beebe. In the course of a single day, Necyria, Bicyclus, and Orachrysops await the imminent arrival of a cataclysmic event – the “Boom.” Throughout 8 songs, each character contends with their own definition of power, whether it be natural, political, or technological. Carnelian asks how we reckon with the "Boom" already being here, and how our humanity endures, in spite of itself, through these existential threats?
The film version debuted as an immersive 3-channel installation at the M.I.T. List Center. With live arrangements for piano, electric guitar, and double bass, the live stage brings the worldof Carnelian to life in a 7-person production. With creative direction by Brown and music direction by Beebe, Carnelian was workshopped at the Celebration Barn in August 2023 and debuted at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival to a sold out audience several weeks later in September.
︎carnelian installation
︎carnelian film
produced by spare titles
Images by Bob Sweeney and Archie Brown.