MANU (2026 -): bass-baritone, tenor, 2 actors, tabla, violin, piano, electric guitar, drums, and live electronics.

MANU (or the Legend of the Fish) is an evening-length, experimental vocal-theater work for which I serve as composer, librettist, and performer, which won Beth Morrison Project’s "Next Gen” Competition in 2026, and is now being developed into an evening-length work. Premiere anticipated 2029-2030.

MANU is based on the true story of my experience at Red River Academy in LeCompte, Louisiana: a “boarding school” that was part of the notorious World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP). MANU weaves a personal story of institutional trauma with the Hindu flood myth of survival. The two autobiographical and mythical narratives collide and eventually collapse into one. Through live performance, film, and a hybrid musical language, it becomes a work about creation as an act of survival, identity, and how memory continues to shape who we are and who we become.

Please note MANU contains discussions/depiction of self-harm (including attempted suicide), and discussion/depiction of emotional, physical and sexual abuse of minors."

Musicians: Madeline Hocking (violin), Dorothy Chan (piano), Dan Langa (producer), Chris Van Leeuwen (trumpet), Neelamjit Dhillon (tabla), Dustin Carlson (guitar), Michael Alexander (guitar), and Alice TM (guest vocals).

Are you interested in supporting MANU? Click below to get in touch, and let’s meet!