Credit: Patrick Grego
The Ancram Center for the Arts will debut Centuries, a new folk opera, Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
The production, developed by long-time collaborators Kate Douglas, Matthew Dean Marsh and Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez, explores themes of home and memory in the fictional town of Centuries, Ohio. The opera, set across two generations, reflects on how relationships and geography shape the human experience.
Credit: Patrick Grego
The creative team has been working together for over a decade. Douglas first met Marsh on a post-university job, and their artistic partnership began soon after. “I planned a birthday party at a bar and invited people to come perform,” Douglas said. “Raina was a complete stranger, but I loved her music.” Sokolov-Gonzalez attended, and not long after, Douglas called her and asked, “Do you want to write a musical?”
In 2021, the trio was offered a residency at the Ancram Center, where Centuries began to take shape. “We had been making music together in the city, and then COVID happened, and everything stopped,” Marsh said. “Our Ancram residency was so meaningful; it was our first chance to come back together.”
The group returned in 2023 for another residency. “Ancram is intrinsic to the piece,” Douglas said. “We’ve had three residencies here, and this place allowed us to focus deeply and make huge leaps with what we wanted to talk about. I can’t stress enough how important this is. Jeff [Mousseau] and Paul [Ricciardi] have seen us through this process, from its inception to full production. It is so rare to feel so trusted as artists.”
Credit: Patrick Grego
Sokolov-Gonzalez echoed this sentiment, noting how the area influenced their work: “This landscape, where we would go on walks, was very much a part of our conversation. We were inspired by this place.” Marsh added, “It is this place — and our relationship with Ancram — that has made the show what it is.”
Centuries begins with a young man sifting through memorabilia in an attic, leaving a voicemail and flashing back to the lives of others in the town — a couple getting married, settling into small-town life, and a sister and her partner desperate to escape. The chorus sets the scene with poetic descriptions of the town: 177,076 trees, 90 children spotting fireflies, 15 babies crying. Numbers become a central motif. “We wanted to give you a sense of scope,” Marsh said. “Numbers can be a shorthand for everything.” Douglas added, “How do you quantitatively assess a life?”
The opera is described as a choral experience, with rich harmonies weaving throughout. A preview of eight songs, showcased last summer at the Ancram Center, received praise from audiences. “The music was beautiful, and the harmonies were incredible,” one audience member noted, adding he couldn’t wait to hear the rest of it. The full production now features seven additional songs and a cast of eight performers.
As Centuries opens its two-week run, the creators are eager for audiences to experience its’ entrancing musicality. “You’re the final piece,” Douglas said.
Centuries runs at the Ancram Center for the Arts from Oct. 25 through Nov. 3. Tickets are available online.