Loss has made a tenuous “we” of us all. — Judith Butler, Precarious Life

WE BEGIN IN THE DARK AND DEATH IS THE BIRTH OF US

We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together is a participatory opera, a meeting of voices, a collectively sung ritual release.

We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together is a theatrical conversation inspired by the sonic and spiritual resonance of artists like Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra; traditions that hold music in community like Vedic kirtan and Sufi Kurel; collective compositional practices from visionary composers like Butch Morris and Pauline Oliveros.

Created in collaboration by Helga Davis, Charlotte Brathwaite, Sunder Ganglani and Cauleen Smith with musicians Alexis Marcelo, Anaïs Maviel, Tarus Mateen, and Jade Hicks. Featuring a choir of Philadelphia voices.

Are you ready to let go? Will you sing, and let the singing take it?

Performance Information

November 1–9, 2024

Pricing

$25 Standard
$15 Students & 25-and-Unders
$2 FringeACCESS

FringeArts Member discounts & benefits available

Venue

FringeArts
140 N. Columbus Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Cast & creative team

Helga Davis (Lead Performer) is a multidisciplinary artist known for her genre-defying performances that merge music, visual art, and theater. Her work explores the boundaries of form, inviting audiences into deeply resonant and transformative experiences. Davis has collaborated with leading creators around the world, including Robert Wilson, Philip Glass, and Shara Nova.

Charlotte Brathwaite (Director) is a creator and director of original genre-defying works that illuminate the realities and dreams of those whose stories have been marginalized, silenced and ignored. Her trans-disciplinary inquiry manifests as immersive gatherings of color and music in collaboration with artists such as Meshell Ndegeochello, Jacqueline Woodson, adrienne maree brown, Justin Hicks, Ayesha Jordan, June Cross, Peter Sellars, Kyle Abraham and Malick Welli amongst others. She has received major grants, awards and fellowships including Doris Duke, United States Artists, Art Matters, Creative Capital, Map Fund and the Princess Grace. Her work has been presented at festivals and venues across the globe in North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Charlotte is also an educator of the arts and has an MFA in Directing from Yale University. She is Co-Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles and Co-founder of Forgotten Paradise Projects based in Dakar, Senegal.

Sunder Ganglani (Dramaturg) is an artist who works in collaboration between forms: music, theater, civil disobedience, pedagogy, performance. As former Co-Artistic Director of The Foundry Theater in NYC his works with W. David Hancock, Ariana Reines, Claudia Rankine, Melanie Joseph and many others have toured nationally and internationally, and won all kinds of awards. As a musician, composer, and organizer he’s grateful to have a creative home with The Stop Shopping Choir community in New York City where he works with Billy Talen, Savitri D, and the 45 member choir as chosen family. Also, and right now, he’s making music with Darius Jones, Samita Sinha, Ash Fure, and writing a musical with Kate Attwell. He’s received grants, fellowships and been awarded residencies, he studied Anthropology at UMass Amherst, and Dramaturgy at Yale, and he’s currently a Co-Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles.

Supporters

Accessibility

Wheelchair/limited mobility seating and assistive listening devices available.

Content Considerations

This show features loud noise, lighting effects and the use of haze and fog.

Health & Safety

Masks are optional, vaccines are not required. More information about FringeArts COVID policies can be found here.