HILDEGARD: AN UNFINISHED REVOLUTION Wins Grant From Chicago Department Of Cultural Affairs And Special Events

Elizabeth Swanson, Davyd Reddyk and Ethan Krupp are thrilled to announce that their musical project, "Hildegard: An Unfinished Revolution," has been awarded a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The grant will be used to partially fund a workshop presentation of the new musical this calendar year.

"We continue to be humbled by the caliber and passion of Chicago's artists. It is truly an honor to support the individuals that make Chicago's arts scene among the most vibrant and creative in the nation," said Kalena Chevalier, Program Director - Cultural Grants Program.

"We are thrilled to have the support of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events," said director, Elizabeth Swanson. "It will allow us to continue developing this very special show and get more eyes and ears attuned to it."

Hildegard: An Unfinished Revolution, tells the story of Saint Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century German nun, who experienced divine visions and challenged church practices while making significant contributions to music, medicine, and theology. Hildegard is especially renowned for writing the first-ever opera, Ordo Virtutum*.

"This show honors Hildegard's original music and adapts it to a modern sound," said composer and co-writer, Davyd Reddyk. "Any student of Western music history starts with Hildegard. Her story is important and we want to give modern audiences access to this artist's work, incorporating her intricate melodies into the score."

Hildegard: An Unfinished Revolution was first performed at the Chicago Fringe Festival in summer 2018, winning the Patron Choice Award and Top Seller Award. This summer, the writers Reddyk and Krupp and director Swanson will workshop the material at Princeton University with student artists from the Princeton Lewis Center for the Arts.

"We're excited to give Hildegard a full staging in our hometown this year for Chicago audiences. That's what this grant did for us," said co-writer, Ethan Krupp.

BIOGRAPHIES

Elizabeth Swanson (Director) is a Chicago-based theater director. Recent credits include I Know My Own Heart (Pride Films & Plays), Hildegard: A New Musical (With a Machete Productions), Where All the White Sneakers At? (Second City), and Lungs (Granary Theatre, Cork, Ireland). Assistant directing credits include Fun Home (Victory Gardens Theater), Love's Labor's Lost (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), and Vardo for the Dublin Theatre Festival (Anu Productions). Elizabeth holds an M.F.A. from the Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts at the University of Dublin. elizabethswansondirector.com

Davyd Reddyk and Ethan Krupp (Music, Lyrics, Book) are a Chicago based writing team whose work has been performed at Feinstein's/54 Below in New York, The Den Theatre, The Hideout, and MCL Chicago. Their first show, "The Thanksgiving Circumcision," was named one of New City's Top 5 Long Form Comedy Shows of 2015. "The Church of Modern Love" premiered at the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival and recently had a workshop run at The Den Theatre. "Hildegard: An Unfinished Revolution" premiered at the Chicago Fringe Festival. They met at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, so please buy them cheese curds soon.

*If you know that it's not really an opera but a sung morality play, you will LOVE this show.

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