Seattle Cascades - One Thousand Airplanes On The Roof, Labyrinth

From our 2017 production "Set Free", 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, and Labyrinth, written by Philip Glass.

SET FREE is inspired by the famous poem Caged Bird by Maya Angelou and the soundtrack, movement and characterizations presented in the show represent various elements of the original poem. Angelou uses metaphor and juxtaposition to express the idea that freedom is a natural state and knowledge of this fact cannot be undone by any amount of oppression, imprisonment or limitation of opportunity.

With a tip of the hat to Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic "Free BIrd", our show opens with Philip Glass's "1000 Airplanes on the Roof". As does the poem, we begin with the free bird having power and “naming the sky his own” while acting on inborn impulses to fly and float on the sky. The musical style and imagery surrounding the free bird is fearless and also indicative of authority, innate rights and self-ownership.

The show continues forward, as does Angelou’s work, with a more ominous tone in Glass's "Labrynth", as the caged bird experiences darkness, pain, and fear. Reduced to an unnatural and lesser version of itself than the free bird, the caged bird cannot fly yet retains the desire to be free and to find self-expression. Here various performers are trapped by the caged and “open their throats to sing.”

Executive Director: Michael Tran, Artistic Director: Lewis Norfleet, Visual: Nick Benson, Brass: Kyle Thompson, Percussion: Micah Brusse, Guard: Brett Harbur