Koyaanisqatsi

Show Description

Much like the source material, Koyaanisqatsi is a work “off the beaten path”. Scored in five movements, this show draws upon Philip Glass’s dark minimalist score, with a synthesized organ serving as a strong sonic backbone of the show. Each production is named after the five definitions for Koyaanisqatsi. The opening production “Crazy Life” utilizes metric modulation to increase the intensity throughout, building to a big epic impact section. The second production “Life in Turmoil” shows off your brass and woodwind sections with hits and runs throughout, culminating in a disjointed impact moment that splits the group antiphonally. The third production “Life Out of Balance” is sweet, in a lopsided 5/4 feel. This tender feel is interrupted by a back-and-forth conversation between the brass and woodwinds - very tonally unstable. Eventually, the sweet texture returns before moving on to the fourth production “Life Disintegrating”. This quasi-percussion feature eventually deteriorates into a full band vocal moment, singing the opening chant in unison. This huge moment is followed by the grand resolution of the show in the final production - “A State of Life that Calls for Another Way of Being”. This show is higher-concept, and would benefit from narration and visual production elements to clarify the five definitions. Or, a group could eschew the Koyaanisqatsi concept to produce a show about duality - a lot of options are available for this show!