Award-winning playwright Gary Aylesworth and his Construction Crew Theater present the world premiere of THE BALLAD OF EDGAR CAYCE/AMERICAN TRANCE (A Bluegrass Operetta). A project in gestation for several years, this new work follows on the heels of Aylesworth’s critically acclaimed 2006 production, SEE THAT MY GRAVE IS KEPT CLEAN. Aylesworth, a San Francisco resident who has written 17 plays, is also a Waldorf/Steiner school class teacher. His work has been described as Serious Comedy, Documentary Fantasy, and Opera Compressed. This play about Edgar Cayce- a Bluegrass Operetta- will be unlike any other. The musical compositions and experimentation will range from Brahms to Stockhausen to the Monroe Brothers and also include original compositions by Aylesworth himself. THE BALLAD OF EDGAR CAYCE is a unique dramatic interpretation of a unique American life. This life of the Spirit will be embodied in an approach that attempts to make visible the invisible. True to the facts and readings, the play channels the vagaries of a gifted and prophetic American. Drawing from the over 14,000 trance readings, this production weaves a coherent portrait of one who lived on both the spiritual and material planes. Cayce’s gifts were such that others came to him for information and answers. This included the War Department, Thomas Edison, Gloria Swanson, Nikola Tesla, and Woodrow Wilson. Inevitably, those who were determined to gain financially also worked their way into the readings. Cayce was asked to search for lost treasure, find hidden oil reserves, call winners at the horse races, and predict stock market prices. The tension which arose for Cayce between material gain and the spiritual, healing work then largely determined the course of his life. Gary Aylesworth will play Edgar Cayce, and his longtime collaborator Peter Newton will portray Hart the Laugh King, Dave Kahn, Morton Blumenthal and others. Together they will try to create a dramatic vehicle that pierces the veil and reveals something of the Other World. Mr. Aylesworth can be reached at 415- 668- 9768. |
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