Mano a Mano
An operatic monodrama which I am developing with composer/performer Paul Pinto. Plucked from the tradition of the medieval storytelling bard, Mano a Mano (formerly 15 PHOTOS ) posits the question “what if Sir Gawain and Beowulf were fighting over killing the same dragon?” and answers it with ninety-minutes of virtuosic chants, song, dance, and operatic monodrama. Needling the Anglo-Saxon epic with personal anecdote, pseudo-history, John McTiernan action movies, tangents about the Romans, Thai boxing, and stories about New Jersey, Paul bobs and weaves between long passages of puckishly quick verbiage and aching melancholia inspired by modern masculinity.
Paul and I are collaborating with designers Jian Jung and Jeanette Yew on this project. We have done workshops with HERE, Ankram Opera House, and NACL. It will premiere at La MaMa in February 2026.
Joan of the City
site specific • interactive • AR • opera
I am thrilled to be making this with long term collaborator composer Kamala Sankaram. We will use mixed reality to tell the story of a modern day Joan of Arc, who has ended up unhoused, living on the streets. The work unfolds in the streets with the audience joining Joan on her quest to combat gentrification. Developed in collaboration with clients of Mary’s Place and Micah House. Commissioned by Opera Omaha and San Diego Opera. Produced by Opera on Tap. Will premiere in the 2026-2027 season.
Quintessence
Inspired by the speculative fiction of Octavia Butler and the environmental nonfiction writing of Alan Weisman, Quintessence is a new environmental science fiction opera about othering, nonconformity, intolerance, and community that I am co-creating as librettist/director with composer Paul Pinto. The 90-minute multimedia opera tells the story of our dying planet in seven parts, scored for an ensemble of seven singers, four instrumentalists and electronics.
Our earth is sick – it has been damaged beyond repair by our species and all humanity share an existential awareness of our fragility. There are too many of us, but too few other species. Our earth is no longer able to produce anything naturally so food and drink are now created through technology. One world government controls the resources, which are stretched and distributed unevenly to haves and have-nots. As humans scramble to survive, genetic modification has become a worldwide practice with almost no one unmodified. But the modifications induce unpredictable and unexpected abilities.
In Quintessence, ongoing human conflict is weakening our already ailing earth. People struggle to understand each other and then their resulting conflict manifests damage on our earth, throwing all into chaos. The “uncouplers”, the vast majority of people, exist in only one realm – the physical one. But a genetic modification has taken what was a passive gene and activated it to create “binders”, a new line in our species. This effect is unknown except to those who have the modification. At the beginning of the opera, we meet Perrin, recently modified and suddenly hearing the busy thoughts of all around her – she becomes overwhelmed by the cacophony of voices emitted from the isolated brains of the uncouplers. Perrin then senses Raleigh, another like her, nearby. They discover when they bind that they can calm the uncouplers and somehow simultaneously begin to heal our damaged earth. Perrin and Raleigh seek other binders to bind with in order to save our earth and help humans relearn transcendence.
In spring 2025, I was awarded a fully funded residency at Brooklyn’s Mercury Store, where Paul and I were able to work on excerpts of the libretto and four songs with seven performers over five days. I am now focused on writing, revising and completing a full draft of the libretto.
Abortion Flower Abortion Fire
A multimedia, interactive ritual opera-theatre work centering on abortion, conceived by an all-female creative team (Stefania de Kenessey, Annie Finch, Kristin Marting) and involving an all-female performing team (Accord Treble Choir: Liz Geisewite, founder & director; Dal Sogno Ensemble: Mara Mlikis, founder & director). This genre-bending piece, addressing an urgent and difficult topic, will conclude by inviting audiences to participate in a ceremony of cleansing and spiritual renewal.
Peer Gynt
In the fall of 2013, I workshopped a new 90-minute adaptation of Henrik’s Ibsen’s play with undergraduate and graduate students at CalArts. We started work on crafting a dynamic physical-theatre piece with video and puppetry. I am very excited to refine these ideas further in a full production down the road.
Three Sisters
In the fall of 2012, I developed a condensed 90-minute version of Anton Chekhov’s classic with undergraduate and graduate students at Sarah Lawrence. We created a really fun, heightened dance-theatre piece with video. I am very excited to refine these ideas further in a full production down the road.
Kristin Marting 