MARELLA MARTIN KOCH
plays
OPERAS
Friend Animals, or Feminine Upheaval
Comedy | 90 minutes
3F, 3M
Why do we hate ourselves and destroy each other? By studying five teens in the Christian suburbs, Polish-French-American mathematician Benoit Mandelbröt hopes to find out.
Pepito
written with composer Nicolas Lell Benavides
Comedy | 20 minutes
4 Singers
Pepito, a lonely shelter dog, misses his old family and his old life. Camila and David, young married professionals, are searching for the perfect dog. As the cracks in Camila and David's marriage deepen, Camila and Pepito form an unshakeable bond.
L Train Play
Comedy | 90 minutes
2F, 2M
Stella and Stanley are happily married in the Village. Blanche is a stage actress who specializes in intimate revivals of Williams and O'Neill. Stella just got a promotion at work. Blanche is experimenting with the Whole 30. Stella and Stanley are expecting their first child. Blanche's dog, Belle Reve, jumped out of a cab and off the Williamsburg Bridge. When the L train shuts down, Blanche comes for the weekend and stays for the duration. Sister time.
Night
Comedy | 10 minutes
4 F/M
A young radish anticipates the harvest. An old parsnip shares a different perspective.
Sense & Sensibility
written with composer Aferdian Stephens
Comedy | Full-Length (in process)
10 Singers
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood take on love and responsibility following the untimely death of their beloved father.
John Dumpty
written with composer Aferdian Stephens
Drama | Full-Length (Master's Thesis)
7 Singers
In an America just like ours, except for the fact that 1 in every 100,000 people is born an egg,
John H. Dumpty makes history as the first egg president.
I Celebrate...
written with composer Tyler J. Rubin
incorporating texts by Walt Whitman
Comedy | 15 minutes
3 Singers
A pregnant clarinetist and bumbling timpanist seek revenge on the megalomaniacal conductor who ruined their lives.
Dolores
written with composer Nicolas Lell Benavides
Drama | Full-Length (in process)
7 Lead Singers, 4 Ensemble
The story of activist Dolores Huerta’s bold commitment to civil and workers rights movements against great odds, the pressure of US politics, and the tragedy of assassination. What do we do when our heroes are taken from us? We go on.
Sí, se puede!
*Dolores is the inaugural winner of the West Edge Opera Aperture Program.
Gilberto
written with composer Nicolas Lell Benavides
Drama | Full-Length (in process)
7 Singers
Oakland. 1951. The Korean War looms large over the newly drafted young men of America. Gilberto, 21, left New Mexico for California six years ago and has never looked back. Resourceful and charming, he makes a life but not a living teaching dance lessons at Sweet's Ballroom.
Tres Minutos
written with composer Nicolas Lell Benavides
Drama | 45 minutes (in process)
3 Singers
Inspired by a real program that reunites families separated by immigration policies at the U.S. - Mexico Border, but only for three minutes, Tres Minutos imagines the story of Diego and Nila, a brother and sister who share DNA but not citizenship. When Diego is deported, leaving Nila behind, questions of identity, duty, and belonging threaten to consume them.
*Tres Minutos was commissioned by Music of Remembrance and is supported by a generous award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Ten Minutes in the Life or Death of...
written with composer Tyler J. Rubin
Drama | 9 minutes
3 Singers
"A short phantasmagoria from within the head of a dying man." - Joshua Kosman, SF Chronicle
Song cycles
Ten Minutes in the Life or Death of... - Music by TJ Rubin, Libretto by Marella Martin Koch, feat. Lyle Smith Mitchell, David Lancelle, and Lee Cohen
00:00 / 00:00
Elinor & Marianne
inspired by Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility
written with composer Aferdian Stephens
for mezzo-sorprano, soprano, and 2 pianos
60 minutes
Premieres Fall 2021
28th Ave
written with composer Michael Lanci
Comedy | 90 minutes
5 Singers
Life in the outer NYC boroughs is upended when an old man attempts to rescue a sick animal on his front stoop.
The Dashwood Sister Song Cyles
inspired by Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility
written with composer Aferdian Stephens
commissioned by mezzo-soprano Meagan Martin
Marianne Dashwood, 17 minutes
Elinor Dashwood, 12 minutes
MUSICAL THEATRE
Adam & Eve
music by Minhui Lee
Comedy | Full-Length (in process)
3F, 3M
A new take on a very old story, this adventurous musical revue asks why we fall in love and whether it can last.
5th Grade Prison Ship
music by Minhui Lee
Comedy | 10 minutes
4F, 2M
Alice's 5th grade class is learning about the human cost of the American Revolutionary War.
Teacher has a fun lesson planned, but Alice has a lot of questions. Can we have fun, Alice?
Danny & The Rocket
music by Casey O'Neil
Comedy | Full-Length (Master's Thesis)
4M, 3F
On the verge of a career breakthrough, an emotionally-isolated scientist grapples with loss and love.
"Can't Go Back" from Danny & The Rocket - Music by Casey O'Neil, Lyrics by Marella Martin Koch, feat. Daniel Plimpton
00:00 / 00:00