Steppenwolf: a musical retelling in two acts

A Music Drama in Two Acts: World Premiere

Wednesday, May 11, at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, May 12, at 7:00 p.m. in New York City

WHAT:

The first ever staged adaptation of Hermann Hesse’s classic novel, Steppenwolf: a musical drama with an original libretto and score by producer, composer, and student at The New School’s School of Jazz, Jochem le Cointre (Class of 2016).

Steppenwolf: A Musical Retelling is the story of a middle-aged author, Harry Haller, who finds himself lost in the world and on the brink of suicide. One night, as he wanders through deserted streets, he notices a strange sign on a wall: “Entrance to Magic Theater.” This curious finding triggers a journey of self-discovery, music, love, dance, sex, war, despair, and humor. Neither the story of a madman nor the saga of a depressed artist, it is “the tale of us all”—a modern myth about the tragic and comic forces of life.

Le Cointre’s score calls for a 15-piece chamber orchestra and draws on influences from both classical and jazz idioms. This world premiere show will be performed by a chamber ensemble of students from The New School’s College of Performing Arts, a cast of actors and singers from The New School’s Mannes School of Music, School of Drama, and Lang Theater, and dancers from the renowned Martha Graham Dance Company. Choreography is by Tadej Brdnik, the former principal dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company.
 
The New School’s College of Performing Arts offers unparalleled opportunities for students to conceive of, produce, and perform their own works of art, with support from the administration and guidance from faculty. This work is an example of the sort of faculty-guided and student-led cross-disciplinary projects that are rarely seen in Performing Arts schools but are possible at The New School. Funding has been provided by The New School’s School of Jazz, The New School’s Mannes School of Music, The New School’s Lang Student Union, and the University Student Senate. Additional support and funding has been provided by The Netherlands Consulate General in New York.

WHO:

Jochem le Cointre, Executive Producer of Steppenwolf: A Musical Retelling, is a Dutch pianist, composer, writer, and student at The New School’s School of Jazz (Class of 2016). His musical expertise spans both classical chamber music as well as solo-piano and jazz ensemble. Le Cointre became infatuated with the works of Hesse after studying them during his freshman year of college.

Samantha Tella (Director) is the Artistic Director of the Chappell Players Theatre Group at St. John's University. She has also directed at Marymount Manhattan College, The Flea Theater, William Paterson University, NYC Fringe, and assisted at Juilliard, New Georges and Adirondack Theatre Festival. Tella is the Associate Director for New Book Press’s WordPlay, Production Manager on the Academy Award winning documentary Strangers No More, and works on HBO's mini-series MasterClass.

Tadej Brdnik, dance choreographer and a former principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, began his career in Slovenia. He has performed with Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project, Robert Wilson and Battery Dance Company and has been featured in works by Maurice Béjart, Nacho Duato, Lucinda Childs, Yvonne Rainer, Susan Stroman, Anne Bogart, Doug Varone, Andonis Foniadakis and Larry Keigwin. Tadej teaches internationally, at the Martha Graham School and through Battery Dance’s program “Dancing to Connect." A recipient of The Benetton Dance Award and the Eugene Loring Award, Brdnik is currently Programs Director at the Martha Graham School.

WHEN

Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE

The Auditorium at The New School, 66 West 12th Street, New York, NY, 10011


TICKETS The event is free, but members of the media must rsvp with Will Wilbur at [email protected] or 212.229.5667 x 3990.

The College of Performing Arts is a progressive artistic center housed within The New School, in one of the world’s greatest performing arts cities, New York City. The college offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs for aspiring musicians, composers, actors, directors, writers, and performers of all kinds through three renowned schools: Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz, and the School of Drama. Students have the valuable opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary studies throughout a comprehensive university, The New School.

The College of Performing Arts nurtures individual artists in order to cultivate fearless risk takers who value real-world relevance, pursue excellence, and embrace collaboration. Celebrated faculty mentors guide students to take their place as artistic leaders who can make a positive difference in the world today.

Founded in 1919, The New School was born out of principles of academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. Committed to social engagement, The New School today remains in the vanguard of innovation in higher education, with more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students challenging the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The New School welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and calendar of lectures, screenings, readings, and concerts. Through its online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence. Learn more at www.newschool.edu.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

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PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact:

Will Wilbur, The New School
212.229.5667 x 3990
wilburw@newschool.edu



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