Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 1 of 10 Please contact for current copy. Beyond the Bog Road

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1 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 1 of 10 Beyond the Bog Road Through the past few centuries, there has been a rich and tireless passage of the native Irish people from Ireland to Canada and the United States. In Ireland, there are bog roads that are paths into ancient peat fields where sods of turf were laboriously farmed and dried to provide an essential source of fuel and warmth. These same roads led millions of emigrants away from their beloved homeland into a thriving Irish Diaspora which nurtured and passed down their traditions. Just as treasures and old civilizations are preserved beneath the bog, the Irish immigrants also held on to their traditions in the New World and the music, song, and dance of Ireland integrated with various other cultures along the way. Throughout the years of immigrating, the music evolved naturally, but the tradition is always at the core. One could either choose to stay in Ireland and survive especially through many challenging times like the Famine and Great Hunger of the 1840s or to go "beyond the bog road" and emigrate to try to find a better life. Whatever the choice, it would change their life and their children's lives forever. Those who chose to stay in Ireland treasured the land worked hard by day in the fields and the bog and at night, enjoyed the warmth of the turf fire from the bog, which was always at the heart of the home. Their worn hands and feet, calloused from hard work during the day, played joyous music at night with nimble fingers while dancing gracefully with rhythmic feet. There were times in the bog where the sod was so wet that making turf from the land proved very difficult. The poor farmer would desperately try to get turf sods from this mud and eventually by doing so, would literally create fire from mud Those who chose to leave Ireland have taken their music, song, dance, and stories with them. It is a huge part of their identity and became an essential part of their living tradition and vast Diaspora. The music of Ireland integrated with folk music in Canada and America to create one of the richest cross-fertilizations of folk music styles in the world. In time, this would become the roots of American Old-Time, Bluegrass and Country music traditions. At the heart of it, this is music of the people, a celebration of life. Some tunes are heartbreakingly sad and others uplifting; some tunes are hundreds of years old and others recently composed in the style of the tradition. It is all honest music of a strong and resilient people who overcame much adversity. It is music that represents the emotions of life in the continuum of a powerful living tradition that has now reached to every corner of the globe far beyond the bog road. Beyond the Bog Road is a celebration of the immigrant s journey it is the story of the Irish immigrant s impact on America and America s impact on the Irish immigrant. We are thankful for the gift of these traditions and are grateful for the opportunity to share them with you this evening. Eileen

2 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 2 of 10 First Half Crossroads The opening waltz and closing polka in this set of tunes were composed with the spirit of a social crossroads gathering in mind. The villagers would gather after a long day s work in the fields and the bog and celebrate life through music and dance. One such get-together is portrayed with the backdrop of my father, John Ivers, village in the West of Ireland a setting where I have played a few years ago amongst local villagers and relatives. One older villager, Tom Nolan, remarked how he couldn t bare to think of what the poor souls of this pre-famine village endured and of what became of those who had ventured beyond this village this is at the heart of our story. Emigration This set begins with a poem which my father-in-law, Barney Mulligan, wrote called "My American Wake", recounting the night before he made his journey to America in 1948 and the bittersweet send-off that saw a night of music, song, dance, and friendship. It was a widely used term at the time for the Irish did not think they would ever get back to see their loved ones and homeland again. A classic traditional song of immigration called "The Green Fields of America" follows and the set morphs into more uplifting, upbeat and celebratory dance tunes Famine One of the hardest times in Irish history came around , the years of the Great Famine or as many refer to it as, the Great Irish Hunger. Out of a population of around eight million people in Ireland, 1.5 million men, women, and children starved in Ireland, one million people left, and the exodus to America and Canada that continued through the latter part of the 19th century diminished Ireland's population by almost half. There are mass famine graves all over Ireland, especially in the West, and still etched in the landscape to this present day are the ridges and hollows of the potato beds where the potato crop failed, an eerie reminder of that horrific period. As people lay dying all over Ireland, livestock and grain were being exported to England daily as payment of rents and taxes. One of the many tragic stories of the famine involved a group of 600 starving people who were refused sustenance at a local poorhouse in County Mayo and braved a 14-mile walk through rain and snow to meet a Board of Guardians in Connemara to beg for help. The Board was at lunch and would not be disturbed. When they finally did meet with them, assistance was refused. Four hundred of these souls died on the roadside or were washed into the open coastal waters on the walk home. The American Choctaw Indians heard of this tragedy and scraped together $170 which they sent to a famine relief fund in Ireland in They too were forced from their home and perished on their historic Trail of Tears. Today there is a small stone cross on the side of the road in Connemara with the inscription, "To commemorate the Hungry Poor who walked here in 1847 and walk the Third World today" as well as an inscription from Gandhi asking, How can men feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow human beings? Many of the Irish tried to survive the famine by escaping to Canada and America. They boarded crowded ships, later known as coffin ships, on an 8-10 week voyage crossing the rough Atlantic. Many of these ships were slave ships built between the French Revolution and the end of slavery where there were so many inches allotted per body on

3 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 3 of 10 the ship. They were known as "coffin ships" as tens of thousands died on the way. Famine ship passenger Robert Whyte wrote in a June 1847 diary entry, A shark followed us all day and the mate said it was a certain forerunner of death" for it was said that one could trace the passage across the ocean by the schools of shark that would follow the vessel waiting for the bodies to be thrown over as passengers died one by one from typhus, cholera and dysentery. The Gaelic song, An Droimeann Donn Dilis, which means "The Loyal Brown Cow" in English, was written in 1860 and describes the anger the impoverished Irish felt in the aftermath of the famine. It refers to Ireland affectionately as "the loyal brown cow" - a faithful friend. French-Canadian Set After the long trans-atlantic passage, many Irish arrived on the shores of America and Canada. Many ships at that time came to a small island lying about 30 miles east of Quebec City, named Le Grosse-Isle. This island is Canada's poignant and visible link with Ireland's Great Hunger. It was designated as a quarantine stop-over for European immigrants to the New World. There is a mass famine grave with over 5,000 Irish buried there. On a visit to the island in 1994, former Irish president, Mary Robinson, recognized the wonderful French Canadian people as well as the horrors of famine. I was struck by the sheer power of commemoration and I was also aware that, even across time and distance, tragedy must be seen as human and not historic, and that to think of it in national terms alone can obscure that fact famine is not only humanly destructive, it is culturally disfiguring. The Irish who died at Grosse Ile were men and women with plans and dreams of future achievements. It takes from their humanity and individuality to consider them merely as victims as I stood looking at Irish graves, I was also listening to the story of the French-Canadian families who braved fever and shared their food, who took the Irish into their homes and into their heritage. The Canadians inherited a rich tradition of songs and dances from northern France, including the Celtic nation of Brittany. Music from the Irish and Scottish settlers also interacted with this tradition. The tunes in this set begin with an original strathspey, a type of tune that you would hear in Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, a region heavily influenced by Scottish and some Irish music. This tune, Mackerel Sky, evokes the unsettled feeling that the immigrants may have felt not knowing where their future lies. It is followed by a mix of traditional Quebecois tunes in odd-metered time signatures and original reels. The dancers join in on a very old Quebecois tradition of foot tapping, keeping the rhythmic groove going with a repetitive foot pattern, and continue with a mix of French-Canadian and Irish dance. Walk On Travel the Road The Irish continued to immigrate and arrive at many different ports. At one point, New Orleans was the second largest port of entrance for Irish immigrants. The Irish travelled as far out as Alaska, and the first wagon train to California was led by Irish. The Irish worked on the Erie Canal to the Santa Fe Trail and into Montana's copper mines. They settled up and down the Midwest, the East Coast and went from the farm lands in Pennsylvania to the poorer farm lands of Appalachia. They held on to a strong faith, which helped them as they kept walking on trying to find their new home. Their songs, tunes, and dance really integrated with the music of the South in particular. Irish music became an important ingredient of a rich Southern mix which was also heavily influenced by West African banjo and percussive elements.

4 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 4 of 10 During this time, Les Acadiens or Acadians, later known as Cajuns, were exiled from Nova Scotia in Canada and they too, eventually found their new home and settled in Louisiana in the South. The roots of Cajun culture began almost 400 years ago when French travelers settled in Nova Scotia. Like the Irish, these settlers were seeking relief from economic and religious oppression in their own home of Western France. When they landed in Canada, they acquired great knowledge from the indigenous Micmac people and eventually called their new home "L'Acadie" after the Micmac word for "land of plenty." After exile by the English and French, the Acadians reunited again in Louisiana, a territory held by the Spanish at the time. The Spanish welcomed the Acadians and once they settled in Louisiana, they once again nurtured their culture and eventually became known as the Cajuns. The Cajuns took with them a rich cultural heritage, which included a blend of French, Celtic, Scots-Irish, and Native American influences. This mixture is evident in a rich oral tradition and repertoire of tunes and songs. This set begins with an original Southern flavored Irish tune and then segues into an original song written in a Cajun-Irish feel called "Walk On - Travel the Road". Appalachian Set The Appalachian Mountains were shaped over 500 million years in three separate building periods. During the first period, the Taconic, and the second, the Acadian, North America, Greenland, Ireland, and Scotland were believed to be one land mass called Laurentia. At this time the Caledonia Mountains rose up and wore down before the Atlantic Ocean started to split the continent. Therefore, the mountains of the Scottish Highlands and the Appalachians were actually at one time the same mountain range. As the Irish and Scots-Irish settled in the South, their music once again became part of the mountains. Many historians including Mick Moloney, noted Irish musician and ethnomusicologist, believe they nurtured what in time would become the roots of American Old-Time, Bluegrass and Country music traditions. We showcase this blending of music and dance traditions with a traditional Irish hornpipe, Kitty s Wedding and what became its American equivalent, Smith s Reel. The traditional Irish hornpipe steps are performed alongside the American clogging rhythms, which were derived from Irish, English, and some German and Cherokee step dances, as well as African rhythms and movement. The bluegrass song, The Rocky Road Blues, written by the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, follows with the refrain, The road is rocky but it won t be rocky long

5 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 5 of 10 Second Half Railroad In the mid to late 1800s, it was very difficult to make a living. Many Irish found work as laborers in the canals and mines. Along with many Chinese immigrants, Irish and African-Americans also worked on the railroads. One common job was to constantly reline the track. Tracks would shift slightly after a certain amount of traffic. If not aligned, derailment and disaster could occur. Aligning track was a difficult task because of the great weight of the track and timing needed to move it. The easiest way to gather all the power from the many workers at the same time was with a song rhythm. Rhythm not only helped to synchronize the manual labor but it also helped to maintain the morale of the workers. Therefore, workers from different backgrounds would hammer out intertwining, complimentary rhythms as they labored. An inherent rhythm of an Irish jig to an Irish worker could morph into an innate groove of an African-American work song. The songs sung in this occupation have been recognized as a major influence on later Blues music. It is said that the Irish and African-American railroad workers used tools from the Gandy Tool Company of Chicago. Because of the rhythmic motions the workers made as they rocked their tools to and fro to straighten the track, they became known as the Gandy Dancers. Farewell My Love Towards the end of the 19th century, many Irish were now living in tightly packed tenement buildings on the outskirts of cities. These city ghettos were a far cry from the beautiful rural Irish country side. At this time there was also a sentiment of "No Irish Need Apply" as the newly arrived Irish tried to find work. Times were very hard and many thoughts were on their beloved Ireland and the loves they left behind. These emotions are depicted in the traditional song, "Farewell My Love and Remember Me". Irish Success By the early 20th century the Irish ascend in society. The Irish still worked as laborers and domestic help, but now second and third generation Irish-Americans are more highly skilled and educated. They are working in many diverse areas of American society. The humorous song, The Kellys, showcases just how far the Irish had come. It was a favorite song on the New York vaudeville stage. Irish Black Bottom Tap dancing started with African settlers in early America who would beat out rhythm in their dances with brushing and shuffling movements of the feet. Tap Dance and Irish Step dance share deep roots. Irish dancing mixed with African-American tap dances and formed modern tap dancing, which particularly evolved through the years 1900 to In New York, there were even challenge dances. A rivalry and stiff competition developed between two great dancers Master Juba, an African-American dancer, and John Diamond, an Irish-American. Traditionally there were three judges at these challenges one for time, one for style and one for execution. Master Juba won the majority of these dance-offs, but together, they helped invent tap dancing. Prominent New York journalist and novelist Pete Hamill gave a lecture in New York in January, 2008 where he noted how New York was an important breeding ground for the

6 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 6 of 10 arts, among other things. People who were not like each other came up against each other and learned from each other if Master Juba had stayed in Africa and the Irish had stayed in Ireland, none of this would have happened where they came from. Tap dancing wouldn t have developed in West Africa. Tap dancing wouldn t have developed in the west of Ireland. They would have stayed parochial and marrow. A dance of equal popularity to the "Charleston" of the 1920s was the "Black Bottom". The Black Bottom started in New Orleans and worked its way to New York. It was named after the muddy bottom of the Mississippi River. It was derived from a basic tap dance groove and was embraced by all members of society to become a hugely allpopular dance of the 1920s. The great Louie Armstrong even wrote a wonderful song documenting the Irish influence that he named, "The Irish Black Bottom". He recorded it back in the 1920s. Irish in the City A Living Tradition From the 1950s onward there has been another large wave of Irish immigration. The immigrants continued to instill in their children the love, deep respect, and pride for their Irish heritage and its music, song, and dance. The children of these immigrants not only embraced the music, some became fascinated with the similarities between Irish music and dance and that of different world music traditions that they would encounter living in large urban environments. The 1980s onward saw many Irish musicians collaborate with musicians from other world music genres, including African, Latin, and jazz. Some ground breaking new sounds emerged and celebrated the similarities which tie so much of folk and world music together. In the true sense of a spirited and honest collaboration, the resulting marriage of styles truly complimented each without diluting the purity and inherent quality of either music. Moreover, in learning of other cultures we can always learn something of ourselves. Our living tradition strengthens as we pass down our precious traditions to the next generation. We celebrate this strong living tradition musically with a medley of tunes beginning with an old Irish jig with an underlying African Bikutsi groove, an Irish reel with a South African Soweto rhythm, followed by reels inspired by New York itself.

7 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 7 of 10 EILEEN IVERS (Acoustic Violin, Electric Violin, Mandolin, Backing Vocals) Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul, Nine Time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, London Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony at The Kennedy Center, Boston Pops, original musical star of Riverdance, The Chieftains, Hall and Oates, Afrocelts, Patti Smith, Paula Cole, Al Di Meola, Steve Gadd, founding member of Cherish the Ladies, Grammy awarded musician, performed for Presidents and Royalty worldwide this is a short list of accomplishments, headliners, tours, and affiliations. Fiddler Eileen Ivers has established herself as the pre-eminent exponent of the Irish fiddle in the world today. It is a rare and select grade of spectacular artists whose work is so boldly imaginative and clearly virtuosic that it alters the medium. It has been said that the task of respectfully exploring the traditions and progression of the Celtic fiddle is quite literally on Eileen Ivers' shoulders. The Washington Post states, "She suggests the future of the Celtic fiddle." She's been called a "sensation" by Billboard magazine and "the Jimi Hendrix of the violin" by The New York Times. "She electrifies the crowd with a dazzling show of virtuoso playing" says The Irish Times. Ivers' recording credits include over 80 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores. Eileen is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in the Celtic and World music genres. The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen Ivers grew up in the culturally diverse neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. Rooted in Irish traditional music since the age of eight, Eileen proceeded to win nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, a tenth on tenor banjo, and over 30 championship medals, making her one of the most awarded persons ever to compete in these prestigious competitions. Being an Irish-American, the intrigue of learning more about the multicultural sounds of her childhood took hold. After graduating magna cum laude in Mathematics from Iona College and while continuing her post-graduate work in Mathematics, Eileen fully immersed herself in the different genres of music, which she experienced growing up in New York. Perhaps it was the mathematical mind coupled with her passion for seeking parallels in certain traditional music styles that contributed to what has become the signature sound featured in much of Eileen's recordings since the late 1980's. In 1999 Eileen established a touring production to present the music that now encompasses Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul. The ensemble headlines prestigious performing arts centers, guest stars with numerous symphonies, performs at major festivals worldwide, and has appeared on national and international television. The L.A. Times proclaims, "Ivers' presentation was music with the kind of life and spirit that come together when talented artists from different backgrounds find the linkages that connect all forms of music...no wonder the audience loved every minute." Eileen created Beyond the Bog Road, a multimedia concert of music, story, dance, and film. The concert is a celebration of the immigrant s journey it is the story of the Irish immigrant s impact on America and America s impact on the Irish immigrant. Eileen is also privileged to share the stage with two of the world's most celebrated violinists, classical virtuoso Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and jazz great Regina Carter, in the critically acclaimed 'Fiddlers Three'. This show continues to fascinate symphony

8 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 8 of 10 audiences throughout the U.S. " Fiddlers Three will go down as one of the great Boston Pops Events." The Boston Globe. ZETA Music, the world's leading electric stringed instrument maker, has recently introduced the Eileen Ivers Signature Series violin. NIAMH PARSONS (Vocalist) Dublin born Niamh Parsons has come to be known as one of the most distinctive voices in Irish music. Described in the Boston Herald as both emotionally haunting and tonally as clear as crystal, Niamh's albums have been 'must-have' collector's items for any lover of songs and singing. Niamh has recorded six studio albums and one live album to date. For the last 9 years, Niamh has been playing in a duet with Ennis-based Graham Dunne. Throughout her career, Niamh has performed with a wide variety of artists, was a member of the Irish traditional group Arcady, has performed before President Clinton, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, and has appeared at nearly every prestigious folk festival on either side of the Atlantic. TOMMY McDONNELL (Vocalist, Percussion, Harmonica) Bronx, New York native Tommy Mc Donnell is an inspired vocalist who has been performing professionally since the age of 15. The son of a carpenter and professional actress/singer/dancer, Tommy brings a deeply soulful aspect to the multidimensional thrust of the Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul. Tommy played drums until 1988, when he decided to embark on a singing career. He has appeared as a featured performer in Universal Pictures Blues Brothers 2000, on David Letterman with Dr. John and on SNL and The Super Bowl with the Blues Brothers. Tommy has also shared the stage with such greats as BB king, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes, Wilson Picket, to name a few, and was a member of The ORIGINAL Blues Brothers Band with Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman and a host of music legends. BUDDY CONNOLLY (Accordion, Keyboards, Backing Vocals) Three time All-Ireland accordion champion Buddy Connolly hails from Newark, New Jersey with parents from Clare and Galway in Ireland. Buddy credits the teaching of button box master John Whelan for that individual success and the late Martin Mulvihill for numerous titles in other group categories. Some influential players during those formative years were New York City's best John Nolan, Joanie Madden, Mike Rafferty, and Eileen Ivers. As a freelance musician, Buddy was soon touring all over the USA with many bands. In 1995, he moved to Nashville and was introduced to bluegrass, Cajun, and country music. There were worldwide gigs/recordings with Tim O'Brien, Kathy Mattea, Rodney Crowell, Christian rockers Ceili Rain, Orleans, Matt Molloy (Chieftains), Joel Sonnier, and many others. Since 2001, Buddy has resided in Morris County, New Jersey with wife Joanna and their three children. GREG ANDERSON (Guitar, Bouzouki, Backing Vocals) Multi-instrumentalist and producer Greg Anderson hails from the musical melting pot of New York City. Greg has performed and recorded with a wide variety of international artists in an even wider variety of musical genres. A mainstay in the folk and traditional music worlds, he has performed with Cathie Ryan, Susan McKeown, Richard Shindell, Tommy Sands, Seán Tyrrell, and Steeleye Span fiddler Peter Knight. He has also worked with many artists in rock, jazz, and contemporary music, having played bass for the avant-rock group Doctor Nerve, with whom he has recorded and toured throughout the world, and also with The Klezmatics, accompanying them on tours of Itzhak

9 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 9 of 10 Perlman's In The Fiddler's House. He also cofounded the NYC celtic-jazz fusion group Whirligig. As a producer, he is a recognized expert at the blending of traditional music with contemporary sounds and production values, and has produced albums for Richard Shindell, Eamon O'Tuama, The Klezmatics, Whirligig, Patrick Mangan, and James Keane, among many others. LEO TRAVERSA (Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals) Bassist Leo Traversa is a native New Yorker and has been at the forefront of the world music scene there for many years. A founding and current faculty member of the Bass Collective in New York City, he has taught at the Collective since1987. His extensive knowledge of a variety of musical genres and cultures and his mastery of their playing techniques makes him one of the most versatile and proficient bassists on the scene today. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and at A.A.S. Five Town College in New York, and has performed and recorded worldwide with a wide range of internationally known artists including Tania Maria, Eliane Elis, Ben E. King, Astrud Gilberto, Michael Brecker, Don Byron, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Dave Valentin, Toninho Horta, Gerry Mulligan, The New York Voices, Oscar Hernandez, Phil Woods, The Caribbean Jazz Project, Steve Kimock, Leslie Uggams, Gato Barbieri, Ivan Lins, and Dr. Chris Washburn s Syotos band. He has also garnered many television, film, and Broadway credits during the span of his remarkable career. ZAC LEGER (Uilleann Pipes, Flute, Whistles, Banjitar, Backing Vocals) Zac Leger has been touring and playing music professionally since the age of 18. He holds numerous medals on various instruments from both the U.S. and Ireland, including an All-Ireland piping medal. He has recorded on over a dozen albums and has played, recorded, and performed with the likes of The Border Collies, John Doyle (ex-solas), Glen Road, fiddler Liz Carroll, Rathkeltair, cittern player Joseph Sobol, young Irish- American trad band Oisre, and world-renowned finger-style guitarist Al Petteway to name a few. In 2007 he was the principle uilleann piper in the Irish dance show Emerald Beat and he is also currently a member of the critically acclaimed Irish music show Celtic Crossroads. PADRAIC MOYLES (Dance) Born in Dublin, Padraic began dancing at the age of three. After immigrating with his family to New York at the age of nine, he continued dancing under the guidance of Donny Golden. He has won Irish Dancing championships around the world and has enjoyed performing in movies, television, music, and stage productions with various artists as diverse as The Chieftains, Shania Twain, Emmylou Harris, Cher, Cherish the Ladies, Ja-Rule, Nelly, Ellen Degeneres, Wayne Brady, Dancing with the Stars, and many more. When he was 12, Padraic starred in "Grandchild of Kings" the life of Sean O Casey directed by Harold Prince. He has performed worldwide as principal dancer and dance captain for Riverdance and was dance captain for the recent Broadway musical The Pirate Queen. Padraic is also a qualified Irish Dance instructor and an accomplished athlete. MATTHEW OLWELL (Dance) Matthew Olwell has been performing and teaching as a dancer and percussionist at festivals and theaters across North America and Europe since 1996, and has recently accompanied James Leva, Danny Knicely, and John Skelton. He began attending festivals and music events at an early age with the Olwell family flute business, and in 2005 recorded an album with his brother Aaron Olwell and their band Hell on the Nine

10 Date: 04/01/09 PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE Page 10 of 10 Mile. He has studied with some of the finest teachers in percussive dance, including Donny Golden, Eileen Carson, The Fiddle Puppets, and Liam Harney. Matthew danced for nine years with the Maryland-based Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, with whom he performed in Riverdance. In 2006, he co-founded Good Foot Dance Company, and now teaches and performs often in community arts events in his native Charlottesville, VA. Matthew has performed with Lunasa, Tim O Brien, Matapat, David Munnelly, Corey Harris, Liz Carroll, and Bassekou Kouyate. In 2007, Matthew appeared in a music video that mixed elements of clogging and kung fu by Rounder recording artists Uncle Earl. CAITLIN ALLEN (Dance) Caitlin Allen is an eight-time World and All-Ireland medalist, a two-time North American Dance Champion, winner of the North American Junior Cup and has achieved her T.C.R.G in Irish dance. She has toured internationally with Riverdance and was in the Broadway production of The Pirate Queen. Caitlin holds a BBA from the University of Notre Dame where she was awarded a NFAA Scholarship and was a 1997 Presidential Scholar. DJ MENDEL (Video Design) Most recently, DJ Mendel directed Rosanne Cash s Black Cadillac In Concert: and the Award winning Accidental Nostalgia, both of which have toured the United States and Europe. He is currently directing Daniel Bernard Roumain s Darwin s Meditation For The People of Lincoln, which premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music in October and Cynthia Hopkins The Success Of Failure that will premiere at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis in April with a New York Premiere scheduled for June at St. Ann s Warehouse. Both of these shows will be touring the United States in A long time collaborator with Hal Hartley, he has acted in Mr. Hartley's films, Fay Grim, The Book Of Life, No Such Thing, The New Maths, The Girl From Monday, and in Mr. Hartley's theatrical debut, Soon, which premiered at the Salzburg Festspiele. Most recently played the title role in Salvatore Interlandi s, Charlie. TIM DONOVAN (Lighting Design) Tim Donovan Jr. is a founding member of The Operating Theater and is currently working on Iraq City Marathon by Molly Page through Deadhorse Films. DJ Mendel and Tim Donovan together brought you Rosanne Cash s Black Cadillac. Tim is from upstate New York and is a graduate of the theatre program at SUNY New Paltz. He currently resides in Brooklyn. SOUND OPERATION: Brian Mulligan VOICEOVER: Dermot Henry