Leonora, la maga y la maestra

“Where the Bird Sings Best, Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s imaginative journey through his ancestry, was the starting point when I began working on Double Edge’s Latin American Cycle. Yet as the 2016 election approached, and so much misogyny was laid bare, I realized that I could not make any more performances without a woman as a central figure. Discovering the 20th-century writer, painter, and sculptor of the Surrealist circle Leonora Carrington, someone who remains all too embedded in the hidden territories of our cultural landscape, is no less than a revelation — of an artistic partner, mentor, guide, and inspiration. As her work took hold, we learned that Jodorowsky was indeed one of the many artists and filmmakers who sought Carrington’s artistic mentorship. Her unique imagination could mentor not only those men (and women) she guided, but all who could experience her fantastically committed process of creation. The encounter which then unfolded, between Leonora and Adán (everyman) portrays the magic, mystery, and humanity found in Carrington’s work, yet the way it is painted and imagined is without doubt mine and the ensemble’s own invention.

Stacy Klein, Director