Video: The Wilma Theater's Docuseries on the Making of HILMA Continues

Philadelphia-based theater company The Wilma Theater (265 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107) has released the second part of their ongoing docuseries on HILMA, a contemporary opera by playwright Kate Scelsa and composer Robert M. Johanson exploring the life and art of Hilma af Klint. Additionally, The Wilma announced a special screening event for the four-part HILMA docuseries hosted at The Barnes Foundation (The Barnes) during its PECO Free First Sunday Family Day on May 5. Produced in partnership with New Georges, the. world premiere presentation of HILMA is directed by Wilma Co-Artistic Director Morgan Green and runs from June 4 to 23 in The Wilma’s 300-seat theater.

Ahead of HILMA’s world premiere on The Wilma stage, the theater began filming a documentary as part of its ongoing efforts to extend the life and reach of its productions through digital content. It provides an inside look at the HILMA’s development through exclusive interviews with the production’s creative team, footage from workshop performances, and first looks at the music and set designs.

HILMA centers on the early 20th-century queer mystic and artist Hilma af Klint, who channeled hundreds of paintings through messages from otherworldly forces, hoping to communicate the mysteries of the universe. Only recently rediscovered and hailed as one of the first-ever abstract artists, she worked in obscurity during a time that was not yet ready to receive her message. This contemporary opera – with a score that mixes genres from opera, rock, pop, and musical theater – wrestles with the hubris and humility that fueled one woman's spiritual quest.

The Wilma released the first episode of its HILMA docuseries in September 2023, which includes insights by dramaturg, artist, and University of Pennsylvania Fine Arts Professor Jackie Tileston on Klint’s legacy.

Formerly excluded from the artistic canon as a woman outside the mainstream, the recent rediscovery of Klint’s work has required art historians to rewrite the narrative and recognize her as a pioneer of the abstract movement. The episode also provides insights on the score of HILMA from composer Robert M.

Johanson and Co-Orchestrator and Band Leader Granville Mullings. Episode one of the HILMA docuseries is available below!

In the latest installment of the docuseries, HILMA Director Morgan Green and Johanson discuss translating Klint’s life, creative process, and spiritualism across the opera’s three acts. Johanson shares an even deeper look at the music, elaborating on how the various motifs and arrangements work in tandem with the story. Viewers also hear from Set Designer Kristen Robinson, who shares early

concepts for staging HILMA and her process for balancing her creative instincts with the subject matter and script. Episode two of the HILMA docuseries is available below!

The four-part HILMA docuseries will be released periodically in the coming months, culminating in the screening event at The Barnes on May 4. The event will feature a screening of the entire docuseries in the museum’s atrium, followed by a panel discussion with the creative team and subject matter experts discussing the opera as well as Klint’s art and legacy. In filming this documentary, The Wilma achieves its goal of making its productions more accessible to the public while growing its audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.

The world premiere production of HILMA is supported in part by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. 

About The Wilma Theater

Established in 1973, The Wilma Theater (265 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107) is a non-profit theater company creating living, adventurous art engaging artists and audiences in imaginative reflections on the complexities of contemporary life. The theater presents bold, original productions representing a range of voices, viewpoints, and styles in order to develop the form and push existing conventions. Many of the roles in The Wilma’s productions are cast from its acclaimed, award-winning resident artists, The HotHouse Company, who meet weekly to train, read plays, and develop their artistry. The organization is currently led by a creative cohort of three co-artistic directors, Morgan Green, Lindsay Smiling, and Yury Urnov, and Managing Director Leigh Goldenberg. Learn more about The Wilma Theater and purchase tickets at www.wilmatheater.org.

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