‘COSMIC BREW!’(Saturday and Sunday) The ingredients in this concoction are music and storytelling. The Swiss composer Sylvie Degiez, who will perform with a variety of musicians, has created a tale about the Great Even, a shipwrecked three-headed creature. But though he sounds like a monster, he brings harmony and order to the world — with the help of young audience members. (Through May 24.) At 11 a.m., Metropolitan Playhouse of New York, 220 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 995-5302, metropolitanplayhouse.org
COSMIC BREW
Metropolitan Playhouse May 16, 2009 - May 24, 2009 CAST: Andrew Bell, Rosi Hertlein, Cathy Petignat, Perry Robinson, Steve Swell, WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Sylvie Degiez LIGHTING: Morana Stipisc
COSMIC BREW
For parents curious about exploring music with their kids. Sylvie Degiez’s Cosmic Brew is a delightful exposure to the fundamentals of sound and music. My Child, who is loathe to participate in any public arena, was the first one on the floor to help organize the letters into a scale. Sylvie's presentation of music is both sophisticated and very simple. The more I understand about music, the more I see how her explanation of sound as vibration is essential to understanding the fundamental dynamics of music, and she might be the only teacher / performer who does this. … As I have attended a few of her recitals now I can see that her methods really give her students the tools for creative learning and, all of her students seem to have a very gratifying relationship with their music. ‘ all of them’. You know I am just crazy about her, as are many, i am sure.
Cynthia Landon
Sylvie Degiez
Sylvie Degiez has developed an entirely different approach to teaching music which has proven highly successful and entertaining according to many who attended this workshop production of ‘Cosmic Brew’. In the case of The Metropolitan playhouse whichin addition has an ongoing resident production nightly, Ms Degiez had to miraculously transform the space 1 hr before each performance at no inconvenience to the regularly scheduled performance immediately following. This meant no rehearsal time, set changes, tech support etc. Sylvie who is no stranger to working under adverse conditions states… “My experience at creating performance pieces is very solid, having worked relentlessly for the past 25 years, creating operas, dance pieces, recitals in many great venues. I have learned to work with maximum efficiency due to the limitations of small budgets, completely subordinating the performance to the conditions offered”. But she adds.. “There is one thing I will notcompromise: the quality of the content, the message".
‘Cosmic brew’ is a very clever play indeed which does not have to be understood to entertain, yet for those who seek more the seemingly random characters unfold to create a cohesive system which is exactly the base of Cosmic Brew. “There is not a single character which isn't a piece of a larger puzzle,The ‘Great Even’/3 headed person is the triangle, the #3, which is the most shared and revered symbol in all religion, the crashing, an obvious reference to the Big Bang and closely aligned with the story of creation.When you try informing people concerning sound, this is where you must start”. The play itself is formulated to be entertaining for adults as well as for children, since it is offered as a family fair,it does invite people to make noise, sing a tone and to construct a scale together, Any mention of tones and scales let alone ‘Cosmic Brew’ can’t go without acknowledging the eclectic cast making up this Ensemble.. a Google search unfolds like a whos who of innovation and experiences, with associations from Pete Seeger to Cecil Taylor. The cast, Andrew Bell, Rosi Hertlein, Steve Swell, Cathy Petignat, Perry Robinson, Morana Stipisic and Sylvie Degiez weave in and out of shapes and tonalities effortlessly whether through sound, light or movement. All blending together to form a cohesive ‘Home Tone’ the main ingredient in ‘Cosmic Brew’ “Seeing Cosmic Brew should be enough to cause one to question, make one curious and respect music as the science of vibrations” says Ms Degiez,“Do I think anyone will get to learn why the musical scale is so constructed in one viewing of the show?It took a few million year for mankind to get there so.. no, I don't think one viewing will be enough although they most likely will know what a vibration is by the end of the show and will have had the experience of singing together with family and friends”. Enough said.
