Reagan Esther Myer is a feature-length multimedia musical (sorta) that uses live music, video, and theatrical performance to introduce us to the titular protagonist of the ThotBot Storyworld. Reagan Esther Myer was workshopped in January 2018 and premiered with a four night run at the Center for the Arts at the Armory in Somerville, MA, on June 27-30, 2019.
"It’s not your typical glitched out one-woman dystopian extravaganza full of beautiful electro-pop music, VHS-fueled video spectacle, and terrors born of our social and political zeitgeist."
- K.B.
As it was never conceived of as part of a continuing saga, it most likely needs to be completely rewritten prior to being mounted again. The ThotBot lore has deepened so greatly that the plot of this show is now too simplistic and redundant. That being said, there is a pretty important plot twist at the end that I will need to insert somewhere else in the story!
- K.B.
As it was never conceived of as part of a continuing saga, it most likely needs to be completely rewritten prior to being mounted again. The ThotBot lore has deepened so greatly that the plot of this show is now too simplistic and redundant. That being said, there is a pretty important plot twist at the end that I will need to insert somewhere else in the story!
THE SOUNDTRACK
“Only one part of an ambitious and immersive world, Reagan Esther Myer delivers incisive social commentary through a retro-futuristic synth-pop sound. Reagan Esther Myer is part concept album, part prophecy, and part satire. ... The story’s conflict between technological capitalism and individuality is made audible ver eight tense, futuristic tracks, in which retro synths and distorted samples fight for space with Kopycinski’s serene vocals. The result is disturbing, memorable, and complex—a project that leaves more than a tune stuck in your head.”
— SOUND OF BOSTON
The soundtrack to Reagan Esther Myer represents Rebecca’s first musical departure from live looping technique since she started writing and performing music in 2006 as Nuda Veritas. Where loops once reigned, now synthesizers rule. Still present are the lush, classically-trained vocals, fragmented spoken word tape samples, and vintage drum loops typical of her compositions.
Underpinning most tracks is an ethereal choir of angelic voices (meant to be the voices of Reagan’s mannequin pals on stage) attributed to a vocal synth created by sampling the singer’s voice from a low F#3 to a high C#6 and drenching the virtual instrument in gauzy reverb.
Underpinning most tracks is an ethereal choir of angelic voices (meant to be the voices of Reagan’s mannequin pals on stage) attributed to a vocal synth created by sampling the singer’s voice from a low F#3 to a high C#6 and drenching the virtual instrument in gauzy reverb.