I want to share a little of my artistic process with you. 

As an artist, my job is to say “Yes” to the works that ask me to bring them into the world. I create everything in partnership with the work itself. Characters talk to me. Art appears in my vision. Music arrives in my silences. My job is to be an attentive listener and scribe.

I originally heard this work as a recording of scored spoken prose monologues, similar to my recently released The Flower in The Mirror was Dead. I loved the main character and knew he had more to say, although I didn’t know what. I said Yes. Then I went for a hike in a creek and sat in the silence of the water. In that moment I saw One Death in Seven Doorways standing in front of me. It was a live performance with seven actors playing this one character. I said Yes. Then A dear friend of mine died suddenly and my grief was beyond anything I had experienced, even when my mother died three years prior. When I sat down to write, I asked my character what we would be writing about. He told me. “My friend died too. That’s what we are writing about.” I said Yes. I started writing and the words poured out. Then the dead character showed up. She declared she would be a part of the performance too, but she would only sing. I said Yes. When I searched for a word to describe what I was now creating, the word that came was “Opera.” I said Yes. —Licity