Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbreaking Opera Time to Act

Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s spring Center Stage season will conclude with the New England and collegiate premiere of the new opera Time to Act by Professor Laura Kaminsky. Performances will take place from Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18 at Calderwood Pavilion at Boston Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m.

This powerful new work by Kaminsky, in collaboration with librettist Crystal Manich, takes place in a high school as students prepare for a staging of Antigone—while grappling with grief, violence, and the urgent need for change in the wake of school shootings. Time to Act weaves together threads pulled from Greek tragedy, newspaper headlines, everyday high school life, and contemporary opera in a gripping production.

As part of an ongoing collaboration with Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Kaminsky and Manich have incorporated feedback from current music students of the “lockdown generation,” as some have dubbed Gen Z because of the active shooter drills that were so formative to their childhood. A libretto workshop held at Boston Conservatory last fall provided students with the opportunity to help shape the opera’s narrative, develop authentic characters, and craft dialogue that felt true to life. Kaminsky, Manich, and dramaturg Amy Hutchinson spoke with students about their own lived experience with gun violence, and how high-profile school shootings such as Columbine and Parkland impacted them as children.

“Time to Act was created in collaboration with our Boston Conservatory students, whose authenticity and passion as they engaged with Crystal Manich’s libretto has been incredibly impressive. As we all know, most college-age students today were routinely engaged in active shooter drills during their K–12 education; tragically, there are too many who have been affected by gun violence directly. As the chorus of playmakers sing: ‘One is too many,’” said Kaminsky. “I am grateful to Boston Conservatory at Berklee for supporting this timely and poignant opera, and to our student artists who have brought it to life with their performances. Showcasing this piece here at the Conservatory and in Boston is particularly special.” 

Associate professor Andrew Bisantz conducts and associate professor David Gately directs Boston Conservatory’s Center Stage production. Following its Boston run, Time to Act will travel to National Sawdust in Brooklyn, New York (April 22–23) for a semi-staged public performance and professional live recording, to be released nationally by the acclaimed label Bright Shiny Things.

Time to Act will take place at Calderwood Pavilion at Boston Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. from Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18. Tickets are $40.00, and can be purchased online. View additional events in Boston Conservatory’s Center Stage season.