O,D,E - A text score chamber opera
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Research Statement
Research Background
Contemporary experimental opera has tended to bracket dramaturgy as a literary function applied to a libretto. Within text-score practice and experimental music, Sage J Harlow’s queer, occult retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice asks what happens when the entire score is rendered as text prompts for performers. My research into transcultural and queer dramaturgies in non-hierarchical ensembles positioned me to act as dramaturg, mentor and research collaborator on O,D,E. Key questions: how do acting, direction and dramaturgy operate in productions based on an operatic text score, and what conditions enable productive interdisciplinary collaboration in this environment?
Research Contribution
O,D,E is a text-score chamber opera in which the dramaturgy is co-emergent with the score’s text prompts. The work contributes a relational dramaturgical method for working across an ensemble (vocalists and instrumentalists) and writer-composer, developed through my dramaturgy, drawing on the I-You-We framework’s reflective rituals to support the ensemble’s capacity to inhabit the score’s openness across a season. It proposes that text-score opera generates its dramaturgy through ensemble negotiation rather than directorial imposition, with implications for queer experimental music and dramaturgical scholarship.
Research Significance
Three 2026 Performing Arts WA Awards — Outstanding Contemporary or Experimental Performance, Outstanding Ensemble, and Outstanding Performer in a Leading Role (Charis Postmus) — and Best Production at The Blue Room Theatre 2025 Annual Season Awards. A five-star ArtsHub review judged O,D,E ‘the kind of local independent work that state opera companies and festivals should have on their radar’, noting a sold-out season; further reviews in Magazine 6000 and WA arts press. Supported by a DLGSC creative development grant ($50,197) and a two-week WAAPA in-kind development residency secured through my role as project liaison.
Keywords
experimental opera, chamber opera, queer performance, queer dramaturgy, dramaturgy, text score, text-score composition, experimental music, contemporary opera, interdisciplinary collaboration, ensemble practice, collaborative performance, non-hierarchical ensembles, creative practice research, performer agency, music theatre, devising practice, opera studies, Orpheus and Eurydice, queer art, performance studies, vocal performance, contemporary performance, artistic collaboration, transcultural performance, relational dramaturgy, experimental theatre
Non-Traditional Research Output
Live Performance
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2025
Awards
Outstanding Contemporary or Experimental Performance 2026 - Winner
Publisher
Tone List, in partnership with The Blue Room Theatre.
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
RAS ID
100037
Event Title
O,D,E
Event Dates
August–September 2025
Event Venue
The Blue Room Theatre, Perth
Duration
65 mins
Recommended Citation
Harlow, S., Myburgh, J., Neideck, J., Banting, M., Dorling, L., Ha, T., Postmus, C., Cossio, E., Pedersen, C., Stark, J., Terren, M., & Uemoto, N. (2025). O,D,E - A text score chamber opera [Music]. https://doi.org/10.25958/5bbq-cm48
Documentation Statement
This record presents a documented representation of the research output, including the research statement and associated contextual metadata. The creative work itself is not included. Where available, external links are provided to representations of the work.
Content Type
Documentation only
DOI Statement
The DOI refers to the repository metadata record only and serves as a documentation identifier.