her bed / / dream wake piece
Calla Esperanza composer Hannah Calascione director
Danielle James (performer/deviser)
Kira-Rae Harrison (performer/deviser)
Eleanor Westbrook (performer/deviser)
Macy Jacob Seelochan, Heather Estradiol, Oakley Swinson (recorded voices)
A girl lies in bed, adrift between waking and sleeping. This piece explores spaces in-between, self-actualisation through voice within the transfem experience…
…and sending voice notes to people you fancy.
This is the first version of a longer work in development.
The piece was devised by all involved through improvisations, sonic meditations and multi-disciplinary practice. Our ensemble’s skills include dramaturgy, composition, classical singing, clown, drag and contemporary dance, as well as humans who sleep, make noise and speak. We find this collaborative process to be incredibly exciting, creating materials and combinations of materials that would not otherwise exist.
Calla Esperanza is a musician and cross-arts collaborator currently studying for a masters in composition at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She primarily works with text scores due to their accessibility to performers with different experiences and skillsets; she is excited by the way this openness often expands the work beyond the limitations of her own ideas and breaks down boundaries between composers, performers and audiences.
https://mistakeless-online.surge.sh/
Hannah Calascione is a director and dramaturg. Her work interrogates the world’s systems, and is usually interdisciplinary, sensory and curious. She holds an MFA in theatre directing from Birkbeck, a BA in anthropology & politics from Cambridge, and a diploma in horticulture. In 2018 she collaborated with Calla Esperanza in her production of All the Little Lights by Jane Upton, winning an OffWestEnd Award in 2020. She was commissioned by HOME, ¡Viva! Festival 2019 to create Four Seasons of Buenos Aires with Manchester Camerata Orchestra. Hannah’s assistant and associate directing credits include The Maids (HOME), The Importance of Being Ernest (Bolton Octagon), Sparkplug (UK Tour), the accident did not take place (UK Tour) and Submission (HOME).
Eleanor Westbrook is a performance maker, opera singer and clown. She studied Music & Drama at Manchester University, Devising at LISPA in Berlin (Arthaus.Berlin), and is studying a Masters in Voice at Trinity Laban. She has worked with the Living Theatre (NYC), Kneehigh Theatre, Belarus Free Theatre and Waste Paper Opera Company. She makes her own solo performance art, most recently developing a series exploring motherhood (including a pregnant belly, labour audio, breast milk and Handel).
Kira-Rae Harrison is currently studying at London Contemporary Dance School. Recently, she featured in the re-staging of ‘Sometimes Even Now’ by James Cousins Company. Her choreography has been performed across national competitions and was selected for The Place’s Choreography Platform. Kira has ten years of performance experience with True Motion Dance Company. Most notably, she toured as part of Strictly Come Dancings ‘An Evening with the Stars.’ Kira’s main interests are in somatic practices, mindfulness and contact improvisation. Currently, she is self-publishing a children’s book on mindful practices.
Danielle James (she/her) is an actress, writer, and musician based in London. She is originally from Ireland, where her work for stage has been performed at the Ark Theatre, An Grianáin Theatre, and Dublin’s Abbey Theatre as part of their Young Writers programme. As an actress, she has worked across the UK and Ireland, and is especially passionate about telling stories from traditionally underrepresented voices. Selected Credits include “By The Bog of Cats” at The Abbey Theatre, and “TRANSPHORIA” at the ICA. She works as a freelance vocalist, collaborating with Trans Voices, the UK’s first professional all Trans+ Choir. Danielle is also the founder of T4Theatre, a Theatre Company that aims to platform and highlight Trans+ voices and creative output in the industry. Their inaugural production, “Smashed” is currently in its development stages. Her award-winning drag persona, The Doll Named Dan, has been described as “a trailblazer on the London drag scene” and has performed all around the world.
rough for opera 