Tonight, April 16th, The Civilians will present Showing Up, a cabaret of songs and monologues adapted from interviews with Black Lives Matter protesters. The interviewees are each the subjects of photographer Accra Shepp’s photo series, The Covid Journals: Justice. Those interviews were handed off to our composers, including The Civilians’ R&D Group member Jacinth Greywoode and lyricist Rebecca Hart.
Jacinth and Rebecca aren’t new to creating music from interviews. On the writing process, Rebecca says, “As a lyricist, I usually scan the interview to see ‘what sings’; what stands out in terms of either accidental poetry or emotional weight or an image or thread that could anchor a single song. Then it’s usually about getting really specific because, while there might be lots of great stuff, a song really wants to say one thing.”
When it comes to the material they were given for Showing Up, Rebecca says, “what ‘sang’ immediately from the interview was the idea of the power of “seeing”; the fact that the subject is a photographer and that’s how he’s always participated in protests…but then also that seeing the George Floyd video for him made this particular protest(s) more immediate.”
Jacinth, a current member of The Civilians’ R&D Group, is Rebecca’s writing partner and co-composer on this project. Together, they have created a song depicting the experience of one of our interviewees, who has asked to remain anonymous.
Accra Shepp, the photographer whose work sparked this project, is particularly interested to see the music that comes from people like Jacinth and Rebecca. When asked about finally getting to hear from the people he photographed through these interviews, he was quick to mention, “I am very much looking forward to not only hearing what people said, but listening to the interpretation of their words and how their narratives together create perhaps another layer of meaning.”
Rebecca echoes her excitement to see the work created from these activists’ words. “I always love the lyricism of found text and the power of a Civilians show that comes from simply framing and sharing a person’s spontaneous words and thoughts. I find it very powerful to take something large and abstract like a communal event or a political movement and get at the individual voices within it,” Rebecca said. “Specifically, this movement has been so misrepresented and maligned by certain factions of our government and media that it feels very important to do this particular piece right now.”
Tickets for Showing Up are free, and can be found here. You can see more of Jacinth and Rebecca’s work at The Manhattan School of Music, which is producing a virtual/film production of their musical IRON JOHN: an american ghost story this May. You can follow this project on Instagram @ironjohnmusical.
To learn more about The Civilians and to access exclusive discounts to shows, join our email list at TheCivilians.org.
