Ruth Margraff has been called a leader in the American avant garde for her “audaciously original" (Moscow Times) use of language that provides “layer after layer of richly textured emotion...and imminent danger” (Dallas Morning News).Critically acclaimed for writing martial arts operas DEADLY SHE-WOLF... and a VOICE OF THE DRAGON trilogy with the late composer Fred Ho for the Apollo, Guggenheim Museum, LaMama, Brooklyn Academy of Music and a commercially successful tour with Columbia Arts Management, Inc. to 33 cities in 2003 with support from ICM Artists and the World Music Institute. Ruth’s “Night Wind from Afghanistan” for the play SEVEN, began touring the world in 2008 introduced by designer Diane von Furstenberg, and in 2010 by Hillary Clinton with Meryl Streep at the Broadway Hudson Theater. SEVEN has been translated into more than 20 languages and performed in 32 countries.

Director Amy Hutchison stages "wildly imaginative" opera and theater productions throughout the US and worldwide, including William Bolcom’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Washington National Opera, Portland Opera); HANSEL & GRETEL (Opernhaus Zürich, Canadian Opera Company, The Juilliard School, televised Live from Lincoln Center); PORGY AND BESS (Milan, Paris, Tokyo, Düsseldorf, Venice); CARMEN (Kansas City, Milwaukee, Columbus), AS ONE (Chicago, Santa Barbara, San Antonio, Pensacola, Duluth); TURANDOT (Orlando), LA TRAVIATA (Costa Mesa), DON PASQUALE (Indianapolis), and many more.

Amy will also be directing A.L.I.C.E., a new Wonderland opera reimagined as a universal journey of self-discovery. It asks: Who am I? How do I make sense of myself in a topsy-turvy world? And do I follow the paths offered—or dare to create my own? Blurring the lines between opera and musical theatre and incorporating world-wide musical influences, this work challenges traditional operatic conventions and paradigms while emphasizing the universality and importance of self-discovery.

Composed by the multi-award-winning Amy Scurria, whose work has been recognized by institutions such as the North Carolina Arts Council and Duke University, Scurria's compositions have been performed internationally, including on the Perlman Stage at Carnegie Hall and by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center. Late-diagnosed as autistic, Scurria began composing at age 8, with music serving as her primary language for exploring emotion and experience. Her creative process blends improvisation, movement, and a vivid internal ear—techniques shaped by her unique neurodivergent perspective. 

Join us for the work of three visionary women and stay for the talk back with Ruth, Amy and more.