Portland Performers to Team up for ROSETTA PROJECT Concert

Portland, OR-based performers Jenn Grinels and Merideth Kaye Clark have joined forces for a concert, "Rosetta Project," set to take place July 23 and July 24, 2021 at the Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre in Portland. The show will feature music by Grinels from a currently-in-development folk-rock musical about a young woman who presented herself as a man and joined the Union Army during the Civil War. Tickets to "Rosetta Project" will be available to the public on a limited basis. To find out more visit https://buytickets.at/rosettaproject.

"Rehearsals have already begun, and we are absolutely buzzing!" says Clark. "It's been a while since most of us have been in an in-person rehearsal process, due to the pandemic. To finally hear live voices and live instruments is so healing. We are changing keys, writing charts, creating new arrangements, just for this cast of exceptional performers. It is a whirlwind of creativity, and passion."

The "Rosetta Project" concert will be the very first live performance of the songs from a work-in-progress musical based on the life of 19-year-old Sarah Rosetta Wakeman. This new musical explores Wakeman's search for self while fighting in the deadliest conflict in American history, the Civil War.

Says Grinels of the show background, "I was originally commissioned to write a musical by a New York City-based theatre company which tells the true story of Wakeman's Civil War experience. She wrote letters home to her parents, and the musical is based on these letters and her search for identity. The theatre is no longer in existence, but I am so passionate about sharing the stories of these women. Their experiences were extraordinary and yet they also feel so universal and especially relevant right now. It plays on themes of gender and identity through the lens of the youth who fought during the Civil War. For the musical, I aimed to write songs that could exist outside of a musical theater context, with elements of folk and Americana. And I wanted them to sound like they could have been written today or possibly a hundred years ago.

"I know this music, this story, needs to be told, heard, and shared," says Clark. "Jenn's remarkable songwriting, set in this theatrical context, is undeniable. Last year, we began the conversation about creating a concert version of these songs from the musical. There is a cast of youth performers, playing Rosetta, her younger brother, and other soldiers and friends. There will be a full band to support the bluegrass, Americana, and folk-rock sound. Jenn and I will also perform in the cast and join the band. I am interested in creating a piece of work with gender and identity at the heart of the narrative."

Clark continues, "For the show this month, we plan to present the songs and give context to how they will fit into the story of the musical as well as the historical context. It is estimated that over 400 women fought in the war, and we are attempting to tell just a small part of that story."

Although the book for the musical is not yet developed, Grinels and Clark have partnered with Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre and its founder/Artistic Director Rick Lewis to give life to the songs and inform future development of the story through the musical; Bridgetown was also involved in the casting process. Says Lewis of the opportunity to be involved, "It's exciting to have this amazing project as our first post-pandemic production. The fact that the show is youth-driven is of particular appeal to Bridgetown, so it's the perfect way to launch our re-entry. This production gives our young performers the chance to originate and create a role. They will have the first opportunity to give voice and heart to these characters. It's an actor's dream to create a role in theatre."

"This was an unusual casting process," says Clark. "We were still under strict CDC guidelines for gathering when we first started casting, so all of our casting was done via video submissions. Then the creative team would all sit down via Zoom meeting and watch the videos and discuss together. It felt very appropriate and safe for the times. All of our cast members are young adults, so we reached out to as many theatres and schools that support and educate youth theatre/music as we could in the Portland area. Until the casting started, the music had only been sung by Jenn. There were many tears hearing the music sung by the auditioners. To hear and see young adults singing these songs was overwhelmingly moving."

With music and lyrics of the songs from the show written by Grinels, "Rosetta Project" will be directed by Clark. One of the songs from the musical, "Goodnight Sun, Hello Moon," was already recorded and included as the first track on the debut Americana/folk album the duo released last year under the name Siren Songs.

Additionally, they have added a Gender and Identity Dramaturg, Jenna Tamimi, to the creative team, who will help add a critical lens to the project regarding gender identity/performance and our contemporary relationship to the past. "We believe it is important to keep digging deeper, learning more, and asking questions about the people who inspire this story," says Clark. "We are thrilled to add Jenna to our team for the concert. Jenna is a dynamic director, theatre professional, and educator. She has a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies with a concentration in Gender Studies, and her research works at the intersections of performance studies, gender studies, and queer studies." Says Tamimi, "I am thrilled to join the 'Rosetta Project' team! I think it's so important to tell minoritarian subjects' stories, and I'm honored to help amplify these whispers from the past."

The production has just scored a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council's Make|Learn|Build program (https://racc.org/grants/make-learn-build/).

Cast:
Cameron Jordan, Clayton Lukens, Ella Korn, Emma Hearn, Jason Nuesa, Jenn Grinels, Merideth Kaye Clark, Sophie MacKay, William Aamold

Band:
Eric Little (keys), Rene Ormae-Jarmer (drums), Ross Seligman (guitar), Will Amend (bass)

Creative Team:
Jenn Grinels - music/lyrics, Merideth Kaye Clark - director, Rick Lewis - musical consultant, Jenna Tamimi - gender and identity dramaturg, Jared Miller - producer, Blossom Benedict - producer, Emily Shaindlin - performance assistant