Forsyth County is Flooding
(with the Joy of Lake Lanier)
JUNE 2024 | RAY CHARLES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Music & Lyrics: Marcus Norris
Book & Story: Adamma Ebo
World Premiere Performance
Performance runtime: approximately 75 minutes—with no intermission
Selected as winner of the inaugural 96-Hour Opera Project Showcase in 2022, Forsyth County is Flooding (with the Joy of Lake Lanier) is the first new opera launched from the annual competition. The one-act dark comedy explores some of Georgia’s terrifying, uncomfortable, and uncanny happenings at Lake Lanier in Forsyth County, Georgia. In what might just be a modern-day ghost story: a private detective and a witch, who claims to be connected to spirits are hired to uncover a weird supernatural mystery happening—puddles. Everywhere …
Tickets
All tickets are general admission
96-Hour Opera Showcase – $10
MONDAY JUN 17, 2024 7:00PM
Forsyth County is Flooding – $20
SATURDAY JUN 15, 2024 8:00PM
Festival Package (both above) – $25
96-Hour Opera Showcase
Forsyth County is Flooding
Media
PROGRAM
CAST + CREATIVE
Cast
KEVIN THOMPSON
Church Jenkins
MINKA WILTZ
Odella Syrus
ANDREW GILSTRAP
County Mayor John Johns
MARNIE BRECKENRIDGE
Bully
RONNITA MILLER
Butter
Creative
CHAOWEN TING
Conductor
TINASHE KAJESE-BOLDEN
Director
DALE HOWLETT
Choreographer
KAT CONLEY
Scenic & Props Designer
JARROD BARNES
Odella Syrus
BRADLEY BERGERON
Odella Syrus
ZACHARY ORR
Assistant Choreographer
TIMOTHY VERVILLE
Assistant Conductor
NYLE MATSUOKA
Musical Preparation
Creators
Marcus Norris
Music & Lyrics
Dr. Marcus Norris’s childhood foray into music came through producing rap beats on pirated software, installed on a Windows 98 computer that he Macgyvered together from spare parts. He came to composing concert music later and transferred that same imagination to writing music of all kinds. This cross-genre mastery resulted in Beyoncé asking Marcus to orchestrate several songs for her and 50-piece orchestra as part of her surprise 2023 Dubai return to live performance. Miss Tina Knowles-Lawson chose Marcus as Music Director for the 2022 Wearable Art Gala, with South Side Symphony accompanying Chloe & Halle Bailey and Andra Day. Marcus founded South Side Symphony in 2020, which he describes as “like a younger, more ratchet version of The Roots, plus lush live strings & horns.” In the short time since, with Marcus composing and conducting, …
Adamma Ebo
Book & Story
Adamma Ebo wrote and directed the feature film Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul, starring Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown, which sold to Focus Features and Monkeypaw at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and had a wide theatrical release. In 2022, she also entered into an TV overall deal with 20th Television Studios with Adanne Ebo, her twin sister and writing partner. With her sister, their TV writing credits include the Amazon series Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Batman: Caped Crusader. They’ve also set up their original pilot spec Supply, 404 with Gloria Sanchez Productions, and MRC. Adamma has also directed an episode of FX’s Atlanta Season four and three episodes (including the finale) of Amazon’s & Donlad Glover’s Swarm. Adamma is a Spelman College and UCLA Film School graduate, and is a lover of all things video games, fashion, anime, naps, and daydreaming about the perfect Keyblade design.
