Queen of the Nile
Born out of the news of journalist Lara Logan’s sexual assault in Egypt, Queen of the Nile is a soundscape performance – an inquiry that explores everyday absorption of cataclysmic trauma. Merging women’s voices – from the quotidien to the professional to the iconic– we unravel the sexualization of women and their bodies in media culture, politics and mythology. This hybrid utilizes extended vocal techniques, spoken word, tonal chorus, vocal landscapes, incantations and musical harmonies, and merges original and adapted text from Logan’s interviews, media posts and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.
This piece has been developed with the Dorset Theater Festival’s Women Artist Writing Group (DTF WAW).
Mariana Newhard is a creator/writer/performer specializing in hybrid/devised new work. She has been a member of DTF WAW since 2017. An excerpt of Queen of the Nile was presented in 2019 as part of the DTF WAW’s Sanctuary event. Her first production, Assembled Identity (a co-creation with Kristin Marting and Purva Bedi) premiered at HERE Arts Center in Spring 2018, and received developmental support from DTF WAW, Drop Forge and Tool, NACL’s Deep Space Performance Resident Program, and as part of the 2017 Artist Residency Program of The Drama League of New York. She premiered her shorts Big Leap, Alone and Perfect in 50 Ways at the Capital Fringe in D.C. in July 2018. Other plays include Andromache at the Edge of the World and Zenith (both in development with DTF WAW) and Da Food is Da Food, developed with Packawallop Productions. Mariana has been an invited artist to Drop Forge & Tool’s Z Forge workshops in the summer and winter of 2018. She has a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and studied writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Harvard University, and the Asian American Writer’s Workshop.
Dina Emerson is a vocalist, actor and composer currently living in Las Vegas, NV where until March, she was appearing as lead singer in O by Cirque du Soleil. Before that, she spent more than 10 years as lead singer for Mystère by Cirque du Soleil and is also active in the theatre and opera community in Las Vegas. Dina lived in NYC from 1988-2000 where she was a member of the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble which kept her busy all through the 1990’s. Dina was part of the early seasons of productions at HERE Arts Center, and is thrilled to participate in Queen of the Nile after so many years out West.