Just as while we are awake, we say various things about sleep, but when we have fallen asleep we learn them by experience, so too all the things that we hear about God while we are outside of him: when we are in him we will receive their demonstration by experience.
Evagrius, Kephalaia Gnostika (KG), 1.38
Just as one cannot say that there is a mind that is older than another mind, so also is it not the case that spiritual bodies are older than practicing bodies if one change was the cause of both instruments.
KG, 3.45
The transformation of the just is the passage
from practicing
and seeing bodies to seeing or
greatly seeing bodies.
KG, 3.48
Just as those who transmit letters to children inscribe them on tablets, so also Christ when he teaches his Wisdom to the rational beings inscribes them on the nature of flesh.
KG, 3. 57
author’s note
This play is an adaptation of my novel-in-verse, inspired by and in deep dialogue with the 4th century desert philosopher Evagrius Ponticus. Inspired by Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red, I’ve tried to imagine the living experience of this spiritual ancestor. The play came about because I felt that the story and questions that animated Evagrius, and now my Evagria, are relevant ones for us today: how do we make a radical change in our lives? What actually propels us to move? And what does it look like to invest in the work of knowing the divine in the body, the world around us?
special thanks to
Anne Teschner
The Bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
The Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard
Music notes by Nicholas Southwick
This evening’s music underscores the inner world of Evagria as she journeys through her relationship to herself, to love, and to the Divine. In creating the score, the goal was not to envision it as an “accompaniment” or a supportive texture but more so the connective tissue that stitches together the body of the work. It offers a voice to that which is unspoken, inner, and elusive. It’s a bridge between Evagria and the audience—it says, “come here, I’ll take your hand and welcome you into these experiences”.
The music is a character (in fact, many characters!) in its own right. I was inspired by the earliest operas from the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, an age before instrumentalists were relegated to the pit, back when they were in the thick of the action on stage. Here, as these early instrumentalists were, the instruments become characters themselves—Darling’s sensuous harp calling Evagria into a passionate affair, the Desert’s flute singing its song of vast emptiness. They also become the sets—the percussive symphony of rain that washes over Evagria, the visceral cries of thousands of insects punctuating the poetry.
Stylistically, the music is a pastiche—improvisation, new music composed by Riko, Rita, and myself, quotations from Turkish love songs and Scottish folk tunes, raucous dances from Brittany, nods to Mozart and Britten, and moments of foray into the ethereal timelessness of Hildegard of Bingen’s medieval world. Overall, it’s malleable and in constant transformation, much like Evagria herself.
artist bios
Director Kirsten Z. Cairns (M) is equally at home creating productions in traditional performance spaces, and exploring site-specific projects in a variety of venues. She is Artistic Director and Founder of Enigma Chamber Opera, whose debut production was hailed in the Boston Globe as “an auspicious arrival in the Boston arts landscape”; their work has since been described by reviewers as “expertly rendered”, “fabulously done” and “a transcendent experience”.
Kirsten has staged works throughout the U.S. and in the U.K.; her work has been described in the press as “so good you want to see it again, right away” and “astounding, phenomenal, superb”. She has enormously enjoyed collaborating with Rita Powell to conjure immersive pieces which have been – for creators and observers! – inspiring both artistically and spiritually. Their “Ladymass” in 2021 was a profound experience; and thus when Rita asked Kirsten to join her for this production, Kirsten didn’t hesitate! She is grateful to work with such a fabulous team to summon Evagria’s world.
Author Rita Powell (The Soul of Evagria) is currently serving as the Episcopal Chaplain at Harvard, where she leads a diverse community committed to exploring the future of religion and Christianity through innovative engagement with land, ritual, liturgy, art, music, poetry, and the church's legacy of slavery. She has lived and worked in South Dakota, with the Taizé community in France, and at Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston. She recently earned her MFA in poetry. She has imagined and co-created a number of unusual theater experiences, including LadyMass in 2021 with Kirsten Z. Cairns.
Madeline Bugeau-Heartt (Evagria) is a longtime experimental theater and filmmaker in both Boston and NYC. Having graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2013, she has since been lucky enough to have worked with the likes of Tony-Award Winner Rachael Chavkin, choreographer-extraordinaire Dan Safer, and art-making-wizard Jaina Cipriano. Madeline recently graduated with a Masters of Divinity from the Harvard Divinity School, where she created an original, reimagined pilot of The Mr. Rogers Neighborhood program, aptly titled "Neighborhood". Whether in art or her work in the climate movement, Madeline is passionate about creating spaces for people to tap into their kindest, most imaginative selves, especially as we collectively navigate these deeply uncertain and chaotic times. When not making art, Madeline serves as a newly-minted program associate at The BTS Center in Portland, Maine.
Gabriel M. Colombo (Abba) is an urban planner, designer, writer, theatre maker, and sometime fool. His theatre background includes extensive experience performing and directing Shakespeare’s plays and a recent series of theatrical and liturgical projects with the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard exploring our relationship to the Christian tradition and the places in which we encounter the Divine. Originally from Austin—the ancestral land of the Coahuiltecan, Tonkawa, Comanche, and Lipan Apache peoples—he now lives in Cambridge, on the land of the Massachusett people.
Riko Matsuoka (Darling) is an award-winning Celtic harper and composer from Japan. She is known for her performances of both traditional and modern Scottish and Irish tunes, which she delivers in a uniquely contemporary style. Her compositions have also been influenced by Japanese folk music. Riko gained notable recognition by winning the prestigious 2018 Princess Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clarsach, held at Armadale Castle in Scotland. She performed at events across Scotland and Japan including Celtic Connection, the Edinburgh International Harp Festival, and the Spring Festival in Tokyo. She graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, earning a master's degree in traditional Scottish music. This Evagria performance is her debut in the United States, and she feels honored to collaborate with such a wonderful team.
Nicholas Southwick (Flute) has been praised by the Royal Gazette for his “beautiful phrasing” and “bright and lively playing” and by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for his "admirable ensemble cohesion”. He enjoys a diverse career as a flutist, curator, and instructor. He performs as the core flutist of Juventas New Music Ensemble, lectures on music history and culture at the Berklee College of Music, and serves as Affiliated Faculty at Emerson College. This past season, he held an Artist Fellowship with Music for Food for his work with violist Long Okada in Duo Gwynne. As a recitalist and chamber musician, he has been invited to perform at Bay Chamber Concerts in Maine, Emmanuel Music’s Bach Cantata series in Boston, Bloomsbury Festival in London, Busch Hall at Harvard University, King’s Chapel in Boston, Salem Classical, Clare Chapel at the University of Cambridge, and Trentino Music Festival, Italy. Nicholas has a particular interest in interdisciplinary dialogues between music and theology and recently completed a fellowship in Liturgy and Music at the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard. Nicholas completed his postgraduate training at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
