Heather Christian

Heather Christian
BornNew Orleans, Louisiana
Occupation(s)Composer, librettist, singer
Years active2004-present

Heather Christian is an American singer, playwright, and composer best known for 2017's Animal Wisdom at the Bushwick Starr and Oratorio for Living Things, which ran Off Broadway at Ars Nova in the spring of 2022.[1][2]

Early life

Christian was born in New Orleans and raised in Natchez, Mississippi. Growing up, she was involved in children's choir and high school theater. She is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she studied experimental theater.[2][1]

Career

Theater

Christian served as the composer for the Folger Shakespeare Library production of As You Like It in 2017.[3] Later that year, she debuted Animal Wisdom, a autobiographical work based on supernatural encounters from her childhood in Natchez. The work's original run at the Bushwick Starr received several extensions and a new film version of the piece was released on Broadway on Demand in 2021.[4]

I am Sending You the Sacred Face, a drag opera about Mother Teresa composed by Christian and performed by Joshua William Gelb, was released online as part of the Theater in Quarantine series in December 2020.[5]

In spring 2022, the Ars Nova theater presented Christian's choral work Oratorio for Living Things as an Off-Broadway production directed by Lee Sunday Evans.[6]

In 2024, "Terce: A Practical Breviary" (the second of eight planned works in her Breviary Cycle[7]) premiered as part of the Prototype Festival.[8] Co-Produced by HERE Arts Center and The Space at Irondale, the show ran from January 10th through February 2nd and received critical acclaim, including a New York Times Critic's Pick.[9] Christian received a special citation for Terce's composition from the New York Drama Critics' Circle.[10]

Soundtracks

Christian is a frequent collaborator of director Janicza Bravo, scoring her 2017 feature Lemon as well as many short films. In 2020, she provided music for The Craft: Legacy, directed by Zoe Lister-Jones. She also scored two Adult Swim television programs: The Shivering Truth and Teenage Euthanasia.[11]

Other work

In 2020, Christian contributed the episode "Prime: A Practical Breviary" to Soundstage, a podcast produced by theatrical group Playwrights Horizons.[12]

Christian fronts a band called Heather Christian and the Arbornauts.[1]

Personal life

Christian is based in New York City. She was raised Catholic and served as a musician for the Catholic Church until the age of 26. Although she no longer considers herself a member of the Church, she describes herself as spiritual.[4]

Awards and honors

Christian received an Obie Award for her composition of The World is Round, which ran at Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Green, Adam (2017-12-06). "With Animal Wisdom, Heather Christian Stages a Powerful Southern Gothic Musical on Mortality". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  2. ^ a b Solís, Jose (2022-03-16). "Heather Christian's Choral Work Is a Study of Time. Patience, Too". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  3. ^ n.a. "Heather Christian". Folger Shakespeare Library. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b Tran, DIep. "Interview: Heather Christian on What Helped Her Navigate the Pandemic: Music and Faith". Theater Mania. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  5. ^ Charron, Jennifer Ann. ""I Am Sending You the Sacred Face": A Tour de Force from East Village Closet—Streaming TiQ". Theatrius. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  6. ^ Shaw, Helen (2022-03-30). "Heather Christian's Oratorio for Living Things Sings the Universe Electric". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  7. ^ Green, Adam (January 22, 2024). "In Her New Show, Heather Christian Puts the Divine Feminine Onstage". Vogue.
  8. ^ "Terce: A Practical Breviary - PROTOTYPE". July 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Green, Jesse (January 19, 2024). "'Terce' Review: How the Other Half Prays, in a Reimagined Mass" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ^ "2023-2024 Awards". www.dramacritics.org.
  11. ^ n.a. "Heather Christian". IMDb. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  12. ^ Greene, Steve. "'Soundstage': Heather Christian Wrote a Stirring Anthem for Just Getting Through the Day". Indiewire. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Heather Christian". Retrieved 2022-05-02.