The Scarlet Ibis (2015)

In North Carolina, in 1912, a boy was born so sickly that no one expected him to live. But he did. Only…he can’t walk normally. He just scoots backwards “like a doodlebug,” so Brother nicknames him Doodle. Brother has to lug Doodle everywhere in a red wagon that Daddy builds. Brother wants Doodle to walk and run like a regular kid, whatever it takes. He’s sick of having to watch over a “cripplerunt” all the time. One summer day, a scarlet ibis appears in the bleeding tree behind the family house. The boys’ fates are intertwined with this exotic tropical bird blown far off course. As war rages half a world away, Brother and Doodle fight their own battle.

Prototype Festival, 2015

Artists:

• Conductor - Steven Osgood
• Director - Mallory Catlett
• Doodle - Eric S. Brenner, countertenor
• Brother - Hai-Ting Chinn, mezzo-soprano
• Mother - Abigail Fischer
• Auntie - Nicole Mitchell, contralto
• Father - Keith Phares, baritone