Tag Archives: rock opera

Six days left to help crowdfund Eleusyve Productions’ The Rite of Mars

Although I’ve previously mentioned this, there are only six days left for Eleusyve Productions’ crowdsourcing effort to bring to stage their rock opera of The Rite of Mars, one of Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis, and you may wish to help. They’ve got a long way to go to reach their goal, but the campaign is flexible so anything you can contribute will still help them out. Also, they’ve recently made arrangements so that all contributions are tax deductible, which, in addition to the plethora of rewards for supporters, may help your choice to help them even easier.

“We’ve got just six days left in our fundraising drive for The Rite of Mars, and I am writing to you because I believe that art matters.

Art matters to the people involved — Over thirty creative individuals will donate their time and energies to this project, stretch their limits, build, embellish, sing, dance and grow as artists and people through the course of bringing this project to the stage. It will be an experience that they will never forget, and art matters to them.

Art matters to the audience — Some will come out of curiosity, some will come out of love for the materials, but all of them will be exposed to something that goes beyond entertainment, not simply music and dance for their own sake, but something with a depth of symbolic meaning that will unfold through multiple viewing, something crucial to the human condition that will impact and alter the audience. For the audience, it will take on a weight beyond the measure of the moments invest, and the art will matter to them.

Art matters to our culture — So much of the creative focus of our culture has been redirected toward marketing that symbols are regularly appropriated without any understanding, and art with meaning has become rare. This is a work wherein words, sounds, and gestures are all carefully planned in order to inculcate real ideas. Ideas surrounding concepts like freedom that go beyond slogan and drive at the heart of what it is to be free, and responsible for the choices that accompany that liberty.

Real art inspires thought, awakens curiosity, and deepens understanding, and that is what we do.

I writing to ask you to support art, because real art makes a difference.” — via email

Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Mars, a rock opera

Eleusyve Productions is crowdfunding their production of Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Mars, from the Rites of Eleusis, which is planned for live stage performance in 2014.

Eleusyve Productions The Rite of Mars 2014

“We at Eleusyve Productions are currently working on our 5th full length rock opera based upon the seven planetary theatrical rituals that comprise Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. The Rite of Mars, our current project, will be staged September 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th and 13th in Seattle, WA, and with ample support we will stage additional performances in Portland and Spokane.

Many of you have supported us in the past, for which we are extremely grateful. We are pleased to announce that this time Eleusyve Productions is under the fiscal sponsorship of Shunpike, and as such your gifts are tax deductible.

Donations totaling $4900.00 will allow us to perform The Rite of Mars in Seattle.

With an additional $1800.00 we will have enough to stage the Rite in Spokane, WA.

An additional $2300.00 beyond that will cover the presentation in Portland, OR.

The money we collect through Indiegogo will be used to cover the cost of rehearsal space, theater rental, insurance, sets, props, costumes and advertising for the production.

These stage performances are recorded and edited for DVD and released to the public as part of our ongoing effort at Eleusyve Productions to make Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis more accessible to a broader audience. To this end, we use music, light, dance, and drama to enhance the poetry and symmetry of the original works.

Watch scenes from The Rite of Sol, The Rite of Mercury, The Rite of Venus and The Rite of Luna on YouTube.

For more information about Eleusyve Productions please visit our website, or enjoy these reviews of our past productions of The Rite of Venus and The Rite of Mercury.

You can also help fund our projects by purchasing copies of previous sound tracks and DVDs from Eleusyve!” [via]

Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Sol, a rock opera

Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Sol, a rock opera is now available on DVD from Eleusyve Productions [also].

Aleister Crowley's Rite of Sol from Eleusyve Productions

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Eleusyve Productions is proud to announce the release of the fourth in its series of feature length musical adaptations of The Rites of Eleusis written by Aleister Crowley, the most important figure in the Western Occult Revival over the last 100 years. Eleusyve Productions is a theater group of actors, dancers and musicians based in Seattle, Washington, whose primary current purpose is the presentation of the seven plays comprising Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis (originally presented as a series in London in 1910) as modern musical theater pieces, using music, light, dance and drama to enhance the poetry and symmetry of the original works.

Aleister Crowley drew upon his deep knowledge of classical Greek arts and culture to produce these seven works (each centered upon one of the seven planets of antiquity) and intended them as a vehicle to entertain, instruct and to generate interest in the A∴A∴, his magickal teaching order. More than a century later, interest in Crowley’s occult knowledge and methods continues to grow, and the renewal of the Rites of Eleusis; their reworking in a modern rock opera format, staging and release on DVD and soundtrack CDs; has successfully brought these entertaining occult works into the 21st century.

Story synopsis: The Rite of Sol: a scene of post-conflict bliss is emerging following The Rite of Mars; a proud but precarious Utopia. Like a shadow cast by the brilliance of the Sun, however, something unseen moves beneath the glittering façade, haunting the devotees of the silent, ever-shining God.

Once again, the Rite of Sol features an outstanding cast of Seattle performers and musicians, including featured solos by Sunnie Larsen, with music composed by Jon Sewell and Melissa Holm. More information about all the completed Rites of Eleusis, with audio and video samples and purchase information available at the Eleusyve Productions website. We are very excited to present The Rite of Sol, a culmination of several years work, and the latest in an outstanding series.

Love is the law, love under will.

Jon Sewell
Eleusyve Productions

 

Kundalini Stirs

 

“‘Kundalini Stirs’ from Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Sol with animation by Max Fleischer.

Public Domain footage from the Max Fleischer Superman cartoon The Arctic Giant.

Giant lizard breaking a dam and Kundalini? You do the math….”

 

You all may be familiar with the work being done by Eleusyve Productions to produce Aleister Crowley’s The Rites of Eleusis, and the video above is one track from the upcoming production of The Rite of Sol. Recently Eleusyve Productions sent out an email which I want to share:

“We’ve been continuing our efforts to bring Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Sol, a rock opera to the stage. The soundtrack has been released, the parts have been cast, and we’re preparing for set building and rehearsals throughout the summer for what promises to be a fantastic production. So much to do!

I know many of you supported us when we raised money through Kickstarter to fund this production, and once again I would like to thank you on behalf of everyone at Eleusyve Productions. We would never have made it this far without you.

Money continues to be tight for us, and the cost of rehearsal and theater space have almost doubled. We’re budgeting carefully, and pinching every penny, but we’re also hoping that we can continue to count on your support.

Tickets are already on sale for The Rite of Sol, and while it is still many months out, any time you purchase tickets in advance, that helps us plan the event and cover our production costs. Please consider purchasing tickets early if you can. Go ahead and do it now… I’ll wait.

Additionally, we have a full catalog of earlier productions available on CD and DVD, as well as limited merchandise. Any purchase you make helps to fund future presentations. If you’ve already got copies, consider buying one as a gift.

Lastly, while the Kickstarter campaign is over, if you feel so moved please consider making a small donation. There are simple methods for doing so through the Eleusyve site. Classical era composers had wealthy patrons, modern composers get grants, we on the fringe rely on our wonderful friends.

Visit us at www.eleusyve.com, listen to samples, watch clips, and be inspired.

Thank you once again for supporting us.”

Yeah, so, consider helping to support the work they have done, are doing, and will do to bring The Rites of Eleusis to life and to music. You can check out the library for a bunch of information and the scripts of all the Rites of Eleusis, but do consider checking out these productions either in person or via one of the CDs or DVDs to help support the project.

Re-kickstarting The Rite of Sol, a rock opera by Eleusyve Productions

The folks at Eleusyve Productions are trying again to kickstart The Rite of Sol, one of Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. You can check out links to several of the previous productions on DVD on the Rites of Eleusis page at the library, and you can gander at several videos they’ve put online but you should consider heading over to help get the next production going.

“We at Eleusyve Productions are currently working on our 4th full length rock opera based upon the seven planetary theatrical rituals that comprise Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. The Rite of Sol, our current project, will be stage over several days in Seattle WA, with additional promotional performances else-where as our schedule and finances permit.

For those of you who are playing along at home, this is our second attempt to get funding for this project. Sadly, we did not reach our first goal. We’ve decreased the amount of funding we’re going to need, as we’re going to have to move to a smaller venue.

The money we collect through Kickstarter will be used to cover the cost of theater rental, insurance, sets, props and costumes for the production.” [via]