Seattle Cascades – Set Free (Full Show)
2 min read
Repertoire
• One Thousand Airplanes on the Roof by Philip Glass
• Labyrinth by Philip Glass
• Scenes of Memory by Philip Glass
• Fly to Paradise by Eric Whitacre
• Symphony #10, movement 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich
• Bird Set Free by Sia
Set Free opens with “1000 Airplanes on the Roof”. As does the poem, we begin with the free bird having power and “naming the sky his own” while acting on inborn impulses to fly and float on the sky.
The show continues forward, as does Angelou’s work, with a more ominous tone in “Labrynth”, as the caged bird experiences darkness, pain, and fear. Reduced to an unnatural and lesser version of itself than the free bird, the caged bird cannot fly yet retains the desire to be free and to find self-expression. Here various performers are trapped by the caged and “open their throats to sing.”
The program takes an adventurous turn with “Scenes of Memory” as we return to the escapades of the free bird. Ultimately the thoughts of freedom are oppressed and eventually trapped at the end of the production.
As the program continues with “Fly to Paradise”, we again experience the idea of longing for freedom. The final production is a juxtaposition of two oppositional pieces of music (“Symphony 10, mvt. II” by Shostakovich and “Bird Set Free” by Sia) that each have a message of their own; one being that of oppression and the other of freedom. The show ultimately concludes with one idea winning out over the other.
Executive Director: Michael Tran, Artistic Director: Lewis Norfleet, Visual: Nick Benson, Brass: Kyle Thompson, Percussion: Micah Brusse, Guard: Brett Harbur
