OVERVIEW
Everything in Nature has a song. If you listen, you can hear it. Sometimes it is one encounter that can bring us back to our senses so we can tune into the living world that is us and all around us. “Nature Song” may be a fleeting experience, or one you sit with for many moments. As an otherworldly, and yet, also as an of-this-world mystical and magical roaming solitary or crew of characters, “Nature Song” will invite you to listen in. What do you hear? Is it the birds’ sweet song? The whimsical melody of a flute? The grasses blowing in the wind? The children playing? The loiters laughing? The rhythm of your own beating heart and breathing lungs? What do the songs have to tell you? Will you hear it? Will it make you dance or sing? Where will “Nature Song” take you? This is a wandering performance starting at US Bank Plaza that moves about Euclid Ave.
PRICE
Free
RUN TIME
60 minutes
SHOW TIMES
Thu 7/21 @ 5:30PM
Fri 7/22 @ 7:45PM
Sat 7/23 @ 2:30PM
Sun 7/24 @12:00PM*
* this performance wanders to Euclid & E 14th
Fri 7/22 @ 7:45PM
Sat 7/23 @ 2:30PM
Sun 7/24 @12:00PM*
DETAILS
TYPE OF SHOW
Fringe
Recommended For
All Ages
GENRE(S)
Dance, Immersive/Interactive, Improvisation, Performance Art, Puppetry
CONTENT WARNING
VENUE FEATURES
SYNOPSIS
The world we are living in is so focused on fast living and speeding things up, especially during pandemic times where there is a push to “return to normal.” And yet, that rush and fast acceleration is also the pace that is leading our world toward global ecological collapse. It is the speed at which we miss some of the most beautiful moments Life has to offer us. It is the pace that creates disconnection from ourselves and the places we inhabit. Everyday a new species goes extinct, or the last person of an ancient culture dies. We are regularly told we “do not have enough”, that there is “not enough,” whether that is in reference to time, money, justice, beauty, happiness, or love. “Nature Song” is a work created to facilitate pause and presence, a moment to ground our feet and bodies in a world inundated with segmented minds.
An otherworldly, yet familiar, mystical and musical cast of characters, some larger than life, will roam Cleveland’s downtown, singing to the sidewalks and weeds, and whoever else will listen. Intermittent with devotional pauses to praise the people, plants and trees who live there, “Nature Song” will be street theater pageantry that invites us to rethink our engagement with the living world. Interactive in nature, the experience will engage viewers whether be in reverent solidarity, playful musical frolics, or meditative slow dance that draws upon the extra-ordinary quality that makes passing puffy clouds on a cerulean sky a marvel to behold.
Each day's showing will be unique, so come join us for the experience, and listen in for "Nature Song."
Created by Diana Sette
Cast & Co-Creators: Miron Gusso, Genevieve Jencson, Stacey Pickering & Diana Sette
Mask, Puppet & Costume Design & Creation: Diana Sette
Puppet & Costume Construction assistants: Miron Gusso, Genevieve Jencson, Stacey Pickering, Chris Seibert
Sewing consultant: Phyllis Bambeck
Stage Manager: Diana Sette
Resource supports: Sasha Ottoson-Deal, Hope Schultz, UpCycle Parts Shop
Conceived & Directed by Diana Sette
Special Thanks to Diana Greene, Torri Lynn Frances, Denis Griesmer, Emily Ruebl, Chris Seibert, & Brad Sweet
Special memory to Ancestors Remi Paillard, Elka Schumann, & Genevieve Yeuillaz
Made possible through Mother Earth
CONNECT
Explore our hashtags across your favorite social platforms:
#Nature_Song
Additional Info
Creator Diana Sette is an interdisciplinary artist who integrates spiritual ecology and a love of nature into her art, whether in the form of dance, puppetry, art installation, music, craft, or writing. Diana has performed across the US, Canada, as well as Europe and Asia, including but not limited to performances at the prestigious Berliner Ensemble (Berlin, Germany), Lincoln Center (NYC), Chateau Guetsch (Lucerne, Switzerland), Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts (Boston, MA), Taiwan National University (Taipei City, Taiwan), Banner and Cranks Festival at HERE Art Gallery (NYC), Maryland Institute of Art (Baltimore, MD), Black Cherry Puppet Theater (Baltimore, MD), Theater For the New City (NYC), and street theater in Perigine Valusgana, Italy. Diana was awarded a studio assistantship at Penland School of Craft, and writer residency at Vermont Studio Center. She has been a featured teaching artist for Cleveland Museum of Art’s Parade the Circle, puppet creator for Viva La Voce Puppet Opera, bunraku-style puppeteer with Kids on the Block puppets, puppeteer in Roger Titley’s Creatures, and was a resident and touring company member with the world-famous Bread & Puppet Theater for many years. In October 2019, Diana created an ofrenda installation for Cleveland Public Theater’s DĂa de Muertos celebration entitled “Earth Defenders: An Ofrenda for all those who have been killed protecting Nature.” She brings a deep love and appreciation for indigenous and folk arts from all over the world, and is greatly inspired by simple to spectacular rituals that enfold myth and cultivate community in reverence for Mama Earth. Diana is a mother and when not creating art, she works full-time as a horticultural therapist at a children’s hospital, freelance writes, and performs locally and nationally as a salsera with AzĂşcar Latin Dance Company.
