Flight Lessons Musical

Based on a true story about Peregrine Falcons and humans living at the intersection of wild and urban habitats in Oakland, CA, "Flight Lessons" is a 20-song, multi-character, two-act folk opera exploring themes of home, adaptation, love and the limits of the anthropocentric environment. Who and what thrives in the margins? How do we move forward, recover after loss?
The narrative-in-song follows an urban wildlife biologist who monitors the breeding pair of Peregrine Falcons nesting on a bridge and how their lives intersect with the human inhabitants of the neighborhood after one of the birds is shot.
I was motivated to write “Flight Lessons” by my love for the natural world and understanding and concern for the plight of birds of prey. Having been a long-time student of natural history and a community scientist, I have an interest in generating public awareness about local wildlife, which is frequently adversely affected by interactions with humans. My intention with the project is to inform and entertain and convey the wonder and magic I know of the natural environment and its inhabitants, and to inspire its conservation.
I make work in an attempt to shed light on the intersections of urban and natural, faith practice and conditioned existence, and bear witness to the wonder of life in all its forms.