tremendously down to a really compressed and vital,

essential form.

THE ASSISTANT: (SINGING) I was a woman once.

It was so long ago.

ELKHANAH PULITZER: And so in order

to celebrate and honor that, we really wanted to make sure

that we were approaching the design in a way that

supported that intention.

THE ASSISTANT: (SINGING) I barely remember it,

but I remember it.

ELKHANAH PULITZER: So we really went with things

that were psychological and iconic about the prison system

and what you imagine in your mind's eye

when you are thinking about prisons.

THE ASSISTANT: (SINGING) I was a woman once.

Objects and images related to prisons

have an iconography associated with them

and emotion connected to them.

So we were interested in looking at what those elements do

in a more symbolic installation kind of space

instead of in something that would be

more of a traditional theater.

THE JAILER: (SINGING) In this world,

without gold, you can't live.

You can't be happy.

ELKHANAH PULITZER: The fact that the orchestra is onstage,

and that the orchestra is cast into the piece,

and that the piece is being done in Geffen Hall,

there is an innate vacillation between different forms

that are occurring within the structure of the piece itself

and how it's being presented.

THE JAILER: (SINGING) Power and love.

ELKHANAH PULITZER: And so the desire

to do an installation was really in response

to the original question of, what

does it mean to have an orchestra cast

and be present and be visible onstage?

THE JAILER: (SINGING) The power and the love.

ELKHANAH PULITZER: In thinking about what

it might be like to be in a prison system

and to spend the rest of one's life there

or to miss the life and speed of things that go on outside,

be it a young child who you know you're not

going to see growing up, or whatnot,

we were looking at what it feels like,

what time might feel like inside of a prison,

and how to manifest that physically onstage in terms

of the performance style to explore being out of time.

THE JAILER: (SINGING) When I get enough, I'll be gone.