Harvest of Barren Regrets:
The Great American Triptych
Harvest of Barren Regrets is a work in process (and, hopefully,
progress), begun in the summer of 2008. The completed work will be
comprised of three individual pieces -- each wildly varied in form and
style, but unified in theme. With masks, accordions, dances, puppets,
PVC pipes, and more, Harvest of Barren Regrets swirls together the
sounds and stories of a few unlikely and slightly tragic American
heroes to create a pulsing portrait of Walt Whitman's favorite country.
Part I -- Among the Butterflies: a heart-to-heart with
CEO BILL BENTEEN
In which alleged money launderer Bill Benteen, CEO of Big Horn
Industries, the nation's one-two-three-third largest corn syrup
processing company, pleads his humanity before the American public.
With the help of Eugenio, his son's fourth grade drama teacher, and
Frederick Benteen, his Civil War hero great grandfather, Bill stages
this "theatrical divertissement" to prove that he is a likeable,
regular guy. Running
time: 20 minutes.