A JOURNEY OF THE SOUL
February 21st at 7:30 and 22nd at 2pm - Thunder Mountain Auditorium
In ancient Egyptian mythology, bees were associated with the journey of the soul. Told through the six stages of the queen bumblebee life cycle, Acoustic Turbulence will follow a soul from beginning to end and the path it takes from a state of ignorance and suffering to one of ultimate truth, peace, and union with the divine.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, bees were associated with the journey of the soul. Told through the six stages of the queen bumblebee life cycle, Acoustic Turbulence will follow a soul from beginning to end and the path it takes from a state of ignorance and suffering to one of ultimate truth, peace, and union with the divine.
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The Queen
Anouk Otsea The Drone Joshua Midgett The Workers Hali Duran Alisha Falberg Shannon Mason Sydney Truitt Alexandria Vrabec Skiba Wuoti |
Writer, Director, Choreographer
Hali Duran Composers Spencer Edgers William Todd Hunt Elena Levi Poetry Dita Devi Lighting Design Mike Inwood Projection Design Greg Mitchell |
Tess Altiveros, Soprano
Kristina Paulick, Mezzo Soprano and Horn Sally Schlichting, Flute Todd Hunt, Clarinets and Saxophones Elena Levi, Violin and Viola Ben Holtz, Cello Kristin Mabry, Percussion Spencer Edgers, Keyboard and Saxophone Dita Devi, Poet |
Bios
Dancers
Anouk Otsea A multidisciplinary movement artist, Anouk was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, Lingít Aaní, where she began her dance training under Janice Hurley at Juneau Dance Theatre. After attending Walnut Hill High School for the Arts, Anouk graduated from the LINES Ballet BFA Program where she performed works by Alice Klock, Robert Moses, Christian Burns, Gregory Dawson, and others.
The majority of Anouk’s professional career has been spent as a freelance dancer in Chicago. She was fortunate enough to work with numerous choreographers in addition to dancing with companies such as Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Dance in the Parks, Peckish Rhodes Performing Arts Society, Niko8 Dance, Little Fire Artist Collective, and Boykin Dance Project. In 2023 Anouk was invited to be one of sixteen dancers for the Jacob’s Pillow Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellows Program.
Having relocated from Chicago to Seattle last Fall, Anouk continues to find solace in the warmth and generosity of the greater dance community. Inspired by the Northwest’s lush ecology, Anouk has an insatiable drive to seek out new forms of movement research both inside and out of the studio. On a journey to connect with different corners of the Seattle dance scene, Anouk has performed in a myriad of venues such as, a residency led by Volta Collective in collaboration with CO–, a dance theatre work by Madeline Gregor, and Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker.
There’s nothing Anouk loves more than getting to dance here, in the community that raised her. Thank you to Todd and Hali for providing a platform where so many local artists get to come together in collaboration and research.
The majority of Anouk’s professional career has been spent as a freelance dancer in Chicago. She was fortunate enough to work with numerous choreographers in addition to dancing with companies such as Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Dance in the Parks, Peckish Rhodes Performing Arts Society, Niko8 Dance, Little Fire Artist Collective, and Boykin Dance Project. In 2023 Anouk was invited to be one of sixteen dancers for the Jacob’s Pillow Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellows Program.
Having relocated from Chicago to Seattle last Fall, Anouk continues to find solace in the warmth and generosity of the greater dance community. Inspired by the Northwest’s lush ecology, Anouk has an insatiable drive to seek out new forms of movement research both inside and out of the studio. On a journey to connect with different corners of the Seattle dance scene, Anouk has performed in a myriad of venues such as, a residency led by Volta Collective in collaboration with CO–, a dance theatre work by Madeline Gregor, and Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker.
There’s nothing Anouk loves more than getting to dance here, in the community that raised her. Thank you to Todd and Hali for providing a platform where so many local artists get to come together in collaboration and research.
Joshua Midgett is excited to return to the stage with Orpheus Project and to collaborate with this incredible roster of talented artists. His other recent theatrical credits include performing with Juneau Ghost Light Theatre as the title role in 'Bat Boy', in a trio of their radio shows, and in their production of 'Putnam County's 25th Annual Spelling Bee'. He may also have been seen in Theater Alaska's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and in Perseverance Theatre's stage reading of 'A Book of Will'. He co-produced 'From Juneau with Love' during the pandemic, assistant directed the world premiere of 'Wild Horses' at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, directed 'Very Still and Hard to See'; 'Almost, Maine'; and 'Grace' at Shepherd University and served as choreographer for 'Rent' at American University where he completed his graduate studies in Arts Administration. Joshua would like to thank the Hot Dogs, the Lovahs, his family, a kind queen bee, and a certain Aussie.
Alisha Falberg Alisha is excited to be part of her fourth Orpheus Project show! Past OP productions include: Romeo (dancer, choir), The Princess Sophia (dancer), and West Side Story (Anita). Alisha has been seen in other various productions around Juneau through the years, including most recently in Wearable Art "Camp!," and currently is on faculty at Juneau Dance Theatre. During the day, Alisha works as an attorney for NOAA.
Shannon Mason is Tlingit, born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, and is a proud member of the Kaagwaantaan clan. She began dancing with Juneau Dance Theatre in 2010, training and performing until 2016 when she moved to Santa Barbara to attend State Street Ballet. There, she continued her classical training and graduated from the program, further deepening her discipline and artistic foundation.
Shannon later attended college in New York City, where she immersed herself in the city’s vibrant arts community and continued taking drop in ballet classes across Manhattan and beyond.
Today, Shannon works as a political consultant, bringing creativity, work ethic, and strategic thinking to her work. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys rock climbing with her fiancé, Dylan Stuart, skate skiing, and adventuring with their dog, Gwen.
Shannon later attended college in New York City, where she immersed herself in the city’s vibrant arts community and continued taking drop in ballet classes across Manhattan and beyond.
Today, Shannon works as a political consultant, bringing creativity, work ethic, and strategic thinking to her work. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys rock climbing with her fiancé, Dylan Stuart, skate skiing, and adventuring with their dog, Gwen.
Alex Vrabec is a Juneau-based dancer and performing artist whose work has spanned the stages of Southeast Alaska. She spent eight years as an instructor with Juneau Dance Theatre and her most notable roles include June in Chicago with Perseverance Theatre and as Marianne in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility with Ketchikan’s First City Players. A proud JDHS Dance Team alumni, former coach, and frequent MC of the team’s Showtime event, Alex remains deeply connected to Southeast Alaska’s performing arts community. Offstage, she is the founder of Alaska Social Co., a social media and content strategy studio working with Alaska-based brands and creatives.
J. Skiba Wuoti Originally from the industrial shoreline of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana, she has proudly called Juneau home for fifteen years. The performing arts community here is what originally inspired her to make Juneau her home base, and she is grateful for the many opportunities to participate and support that community. She has worked with many of the performing arts and music organizations here alongside her wildly talented neighbors and friends. She is an Interlochen Arts Academy alumni in Musical Theater, studied Musical Theater at Marymount Manhattan College, and Vocal Performance at Indiana University. She works on small expedition cruise ships in the polar regions and loves to travel. She will be performing with the singing group Queens during Folk Fest and make sure to check her out on February 28 with Theatre in the Rough in their musical cabaret, "10+ Steps to Personal Revolution", at McPhetres Hall.
Sydney Truitt is a Tlingit artist, born and raised in Juneau, AK. Sydney started her training with Juneau Dance Theatre at the age of 4. At 17 she was accepted and graduated from the contemporary high school program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, then went on to receive a BFA in contemporary dance in 2022. During her career she has performed pieces by José Limón, Merce Cunningham, Robert Battle, Dayna Fox, Ming Lung-Yang, Yoshio Sakuraba, and George Balanchine. In 2020 she danced in Gū Nū Kū, a dance film funded by the Juneau Arts Council and CBJ Juneau CARES Artworks grant, choreographed by her sister, Marissa Truitt. She will be attending the One Body One Career Countertechnique program this summer in Amsterdam. She works for the Alaska State Legislature and is fulfilled artistically by teaching ballet at Juneau Dance Theatre.
Poet
Dita Devi Hughes is a painter and poet from Miami, Florida living in Juneau, Alaska. Her work primarily focuses on education, social justice and environmental justice but has a diverse scope of content. She has performed for several organizations, most notably a solo poetry feature directly to Bernie Sanders live regarding climate change and gentrification in Miami. Her multimedia work including painting and spoken word installations have been featured in exhibitions such as ArtMiami and in Miami History Museum. Performing spoken word throughout the country including Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville and New Jersey continues to nurture her appetite to collaborate with other artists and work in various environments. She has also facilitated bringing other spoken word artist to Juneau to share their art from across the country deepening her belief that we can learn and grow from one another through art and finding our commonality within our differences.
Composers
Spencer Edgers is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer based on Lingít Aaní. A finalist for the 2024 American Prize in Composition (opera/theater/film/dance), Edgers draws on a fusion of musical styles to create original sonic worlds.
Spencer has debuted two original short operas as part of Seattle Opera’s Creation Lab, and with support from the Juneau Community Foundation is currently collaborating with poet Tripp J Crouse to create a feature length opera titled Black Rock, USA, scheduled to workshop in fall 2026.
Spencer has debuted two original short operas as part of Seattle Opera’s Creation Lab, and with support from the Juneau Community Foundation is currently collaborating with poet Tripp J Crouse to create a feature length opera titled Black Rock, USA, scheduled to workshop in fall 2026.
Elena Levi has been studying composition since her partner, Ben, first encouraged her to write duets for the two of them in 2018. Ever since, she has had opportunities to compose for new music groups such as Boston University's Time's Arrow, Mivos Quartet JACK Quartet, and Splintered Reeds.
William Todd Hunt has studied composition for most of his adult life with the great masters of the past 700 years through his work as a conductor. Some of his most influential teachers have been Dmitri Shostakovich, Béla Bartók, and Guillaume de Machaut, despite never having met them. When not composing, Mr. Hunt teaches woodwinds privately and is Artistic Director of the Orpheus Project.
Recent performances include A Wolf Called Romeo with Orpheus Project and Nick Jans, a flute quartet performed by Flutatious: Lost - The Kaua'i 'ō'ō as well as Charon and Kerberos from his Pluto Suite for Saxophone Quartet and String Quartet with the Aurora Saxophone Quartet, and Wounds Heal, a song cycle with dance, performed by Tess Altiveros, Jay Query, and Skiba Wuoti with Orpheus Project.
Recent performances include A Wolf Called Romeo with Orpheus Project and Nick Jans, a flute quartet performed by Flutatious: Lost - The Kaua'i 'ō'ō as well as Charon and Kerberos from his Pluto Suite for Saxophone Quartet and String Quartet with the Aurora Saxophone Quartet, and Wounds Heal, a song cycle with dance, performed by Tess Altiveros, Jay Query, and Skiba Wuoti with Orpheus Project.