“Black Lodge is a bold new operatic film. It seamlessly blends poetry and music into a powerful cinematic experience.” — Philip Glass

“What does it take to face ourselves? Enter the darkness in search of something beautiful, transcendent. But be very careful what you need to know…

About BLACK LODGE

Drawing on the complicated mythologies of the surrealist writer William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Black Lodge uses dance, industrial rock, classical string quartet, and opera to take viewers through a Lynchian psychological escape room.

Set in a nightmarish Bardo, a place between death and rebirth, a tormented writer faces down demons of his own making. Forced to confront the darkest moment in his life, he mines fractured and repressed memories for a way out. A woman is at the center of all the writer’s afterlife encounters. She is the subject of his life’s greatest regret, and she materializes everywhere in this Otherworld. The writer cannot detach any thoughts of his life from her.

Part film screening and part industrial rock opera concert, this West Coast premiere event features glam opera band Timur & the Dime Museum alongside musicians of the Isaura String Quartet.

BLACK LODGE Cast

Film: Timur as the Man and Jennifer Harrison Newman as the Woman 

Live performers: Timur and the Dime Museum (Timur, lead vocals, Matthew Setzer, guitar, Andrew Lessman, drums, Hannah Dexter, bass, Milo Talwani, keys) and Isaura String Quartet (Emily Call, violin, Mads Falcone, violin, Laila Zakzook, viola, Betsy Rettig, cello) with costumes by Victor Wilde and Bohemian Society. 

About BARDO

You are invited to step into the haunted world of BARDO, a liminal space between life and death where lost souls linger, awaiting passage to the next realm. In this immersive pre-show experience, you will confront your deepest secrets as you wander dark corridors amidst trapped shadows, tormented souls, and mystifying creatures, all bound to this otherworldly realm, in search of escape. Come dressed in your spookiest finery and prepare for unexpected encounters around every corner.

BARDO Cast

Created and directed by Sandra Powers. Produced by Beth Morrison Projects with original music by David T. Little. Costumes by Sandra Powers. Displayed costumes from BLACK LODGE by Sindy Butz. Hosted by Jeffrey Damnit, Sindy Butz (butoh performer), Brittaney Talbot and Chad Wyszynski (shadow puppetry), Matt Bruce (psychic), Roger Fojas (hungry ghost), Deneen Melody (hungry ghost), Michelle LaVon (hungry ghost), Kent Jenkins (hungry ghost), Erin Maxick (nurse), Alison Stanley (nurse), Alec Anderson-Carrasco (confessions reader), Erica Malachowski (Artaud's ghost), Michael Lanham (death), Olivia Xing (witch), Gary Cook (tormented writer), MaryKate Glenn (tormented writer), Keila Cone-Uemura (tormented writer), Prix de Beaute (burlesque), Cat DeCuir (page piercer), Pony Lee (page piercer), Darija Varnas (model), Megan Sutherland (model), Tiffany Brooke Fest (model), Tara Ozella (model) and Isaura String Quartet. 

*Costume restrictions: no face coverings or masks, weapons of any kind (real or fake), no large props/head gear that will obstruct views, block aisles or require additional space in the seats.

Funds provided by the NEA Challenge Grant Endowment.