The Immortal Hour

text Fiona Macleod music by Greg Dinunzi

directed by Georgia McGill choreography by Lucy Costelloe

costumes by Debra Otte sound design by Tom Lynn

lighting design by Sophia Horend

Cast:

Dalua: (spoken by) The Blackbird

Etain: (spoken by) Drifa Hansen (danced by) Lucy Costelloe

King Eochaidh: Fra Gunn

Manus & Maeve: Gareth Mills & Abbe Gail Grosse

Midir: Julius Williams III

Bard: The Blackbird

Greg Dinunzi (The Blackbird): Composer/Musician/Bard

was born on Long Island, NY. He is a composer and a seasoned session guitarist performing in a wide spectrum of styles from musical theater, pop and rock to classical music. Some special experiences of his are playing “We Will Rock You” under the musical direction of Brian May, being part of Barrie Kosky's “The Threepenny Opera” on it's return to it's original stage at Berliner Ensemble, and play “Seven Deadly Sins” under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle, and Alban Berg's “Lulu” under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. His three CDs “The Early Years”, “Retro”, and “Music for Theatre and Dance” can be found on all the streaming platforms under the artist name The Blackbird. He is now turning to composing for classical instruments, including his Persephone Quartets for Three Strings & Guitar, and now Fiona Macleod's “The Immortal Hour” which is also available on CD, to download and on all streaming services.

He is a founding member and composer of The Modern Theatre of Myth and is delighted to see the company renew and reunite for his newest work “The Immortal Hour” with such a special cast and crew. My deepest gratitude goes out to RJ Stewart for all of his support for this project. Mr. Dinunzi lives with his wonderful wife and cat in Berlin.

For further information: www.meetblackbird.com

Georgia McGill: Director

is a Professor of Theatre at the City University of New York/Queensborough Community College. Her work as a playwright and director has been seen on stages nationally in the United States and internationally in Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Germany, Scotland and the United Kingdom. Last year, her play “Ashes” was read as part of a series of new plays at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club. Georgia is excited to work once again with her longtime collaborator, Mr Dinunzi and the wonderful company of “The Immortal Hour”. Ms.McGill is a former National Chair of the National Playwriting Program of The Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival. She has served as Artistic Director of The Modern Theatre of Myth, a New York based company whose work centered on ancient texts, mythology and ritual. Georgia lives in New York with her wonderful family.

Lucy Costelloe: Choreography/Etain (Dancer)

was born in England and completed her dance training at Northern Ballet School in Manchester. She began her professional career in the European tour of The Hunchback of Notre Dame then moved to Germany to join the cast of Tanz der Vampire in Hamburg. From here she went on to perform in many theatre productions and musicals, including Dirty Dancing, Hairspray, Cats, The Addams Family and many, many more.

Still based in Germany, Lucy is now a choreographer and dance coach, most recently having choreographed the tap-dancing, musical comedy, Anything Goes in Görlitz. Alongside musical theatre, she has choreographed classical pieces for the UK tours of operas, Aida and Nabucco, which included performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She has choreographed music videos, such as the German pop star, Mark Forster’s summer hit “Sowieso”, and for TV shows such as Let’s Dance (the German Strictly Come Dancing). As a dance coach, Lucy has spent over 20 years teaching at the most prominent musical schools in Germany, and regularly gives workshops and masterclasses. During this time, she has trained countless young talents, many of whom can be seen on professional stages around the world, enjoying successful careers of their own!

Tom Lynn (Sound Design)

has been working professionally as a recording engineer, woodwind player, orchestrator and copyist since receiving his B.A. in Music with a focus on Recording Arts and Sciences from Duquesne University more than 30 years ago. He has created original music and sound design for everything from huge digital marketing campaigns to tiny theatre pieces, played jazz in after-hours clubs, produced psychedelic rock bands and been responsible for producing printed music for many world-class orchestras and ensembles. His own original music has been broadcast on NPR and PRI and is available on iTunes and Spotify.

https://www.tomlynnmusic.com/

Sophia Horend (Lighting Design)

born and raised in Berlin. As a lighting technician and operator in theaters and shows since 2008 in Berlin and on tour through Europe."

Debra Bergsma Otte (Costume Design)

is a costume designer and educator. Her design credits include over 150 costume designs for regional, Off-Broadway and university productions; for dance companies including the Joffrey Ballet, Linda Tarnay, and Merce Cunningham; puppet design (Dark Crystal)for Henson Associates; and industrial design work for Parker Davis, Chrysler and Burger King. She taught as an Associate Professor of Design and Program Coordinator for the BFA in Theatre: Design, Technology and Management Program at Montclair State University for 18 years. She previously served as Director of both the Theatre and Arts Management programs at Long Island University. She was honored to receive the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for her work with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival where she served as National Chair-of-Chairs, Region II Chair (2002-2005) and Region II Design Chair. She holds an MFA in Design from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University

R. J. Stewart (Musician)

R.J. has been part of this process with Immortal Hour for two years. He has been a guiding light for Mr. Dinunzi and is instrumental in bringing this performance back to the Assembly Rooms of Glastonbury. He will be introducing the piece and playing the Psaltery for this performance.

His full bio can be found here: https://rjstewart.org/bio/

Cast

Fra Gunn: King Eochaidh

is an award-winning actor and storyteller from Belfast, in Ireland.

His clients have included theatre, film and television companies. His repertoire of theatre includes Bertolt Brecht's “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” with Bruiser Theatre Company, directed by Lisa May, “Belfast Bred” with Kabosh Theatre Company, directed by Paula McFetridge, “Tosca” with NI Opera, directed by Oliver Mears, “Gulliver’s Travels” with Wonderland Productions, directed by Alice Coghlan and “Macbeth” with Replay Productions directed by Richard Croxford.

Film credits include "Ditching" by Richard West and Stephen Hackett for Factotum Films, Wasteland" by Kerry Rooney for Kaleidoscope Films and “Mother’s Day” for BBC/RTÉ. TV credits include "Just For Laughs" by T. T. Miller/Francois Beland and BBC's "Spotlight" and "Scúp".

Fra is a member, and former board member of Aos Scéal Éireann/Storytellers of Ireland.

Drifa Hansen: Etain

Drífa is an actress and classical singer with a diverse background. She is of Icelandic and English heritage and grew up in the Faroe Islands. Her passion for singing and acting led her to study in France, Sweden, Iceland, and Germany. For the past 15 years, she has lived in Berlin, where she has been actively involved in the theater scene, including performances at the Berliner Ensemble and Theater des Westens, and has appeared as a soloist in various concerts and productions.

She has also worked in film for the past 20 years, most recently appearing in the Greek mythology-inspired “Support Group Olympus” and currently filming in Budapest for Ruben Östlund’s new film, “The Entertainment System Is Down”.

Drífa’s repertoire is wide-ranging, from Nordic song compositions to Mozart and art songs. She has performed at the Anna-Maria-Mozart-Gesellschaft in Salzburg with a program dedicated to female composers and last year presented her Nordic repertoire niche in Beijing.

Gareth Mills: Manus

has been buying and selling books in Glastonbury since 1993.

Abbe Gail Gross: Maeve

is a member of Actors Equity and S.A.G./ A.F.T.R.A. Training includes Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, American Academy Of Dramatic Arts, S.U.N.Y. Brockport, and a Master’s Degree from Hofstra University. Acting credits include ASHES, EdWARd 2, SOMNILYTE SESSIONS and her original suffrage play I WANT MY VOTE. Performances for Modern Theatre of Myth include A SHANA MAIDEL, NINE, AMADEUS, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, OEDIPUS and SHATTERED SUN. Directing credits include shows for Locust Valley Jesters, Town of Hempstead Parks Department and LIHSA including PROSPECT HIGH: BROOKLYN. At Nassau Community College she directed KINDERTRANSPORT and ALABAMA STORY. For Broadway Club House she directed PENGUINS ARE MAD SCARY, WHY VAMPIRE MUSICALS SUCK, and MOST LIKELY TO…THE SENIOR SUPERLATIVE MUSICAL. Theatre teaching experience includes Queensborough Community College, S.U.N.Y. Old Westbury, and Long Island High School for The Arts. She currently teaches Acting at Nassau Community College.

Julius P. Williams III

is a professor of voice at Berklee College of Music where he is also a choreographer and director of various shows in the Voice department. He has achieved his Bachelor of Music in Musical Theater Vocal Performance at NYU Steinhardt School, and Classical Voice Performance Master at The Boston Conservatory. He has performed in musicals and operas in the United States and Europe. Williams also starred in his own two-person Golden Age of musicals Show “Funny Faces Fancy Feet” and was a founding member and arranger for the Classical crossover group Vox Fortura. He has also appeared as a solo singer on the Aida Cruise line and has recently been seen as Pastor Pent in the production of “The Juke”, and Andre in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” in Boston, MA.

The Modern Theatre of Myth is dedicated to reviving and reinterpreting classical works of myth, ritual, and spirituality through bold, immersive performances. We bring ancient stories into conversation with contemporary themes, creating experiences that invite audiences to reconnect with the sacred, the mystical, and the mythical in new and meaningful ways.

The theater was founded in New York in the 1980’s by Georgia McGill offering both public performances and educational programming, and took part in international theatre festivals in where we performed in the ancient greek amphitheater in Epidavros in Greece, in Cyprus in Kourion, and at the Temple of Aphrodite in Paphos. We also premiered another work of Mr. Dinunzi’s in Berlin “The Story of the Other Wise Man” based on Henry van Dyke’s novel of the same name, in addition to performing on Long Island and in New York City.

The Immortal Hour Program

The Immortal Hour