DD Artist Profile Series – Gaelynn Lea in "Invisible Fences" At Zeitgeist Nov 7-23
Performer and Composer Gaelynn Lea Brings Her Music And Disability Advocacy Around the World and Back Home Again (Photo credit Paul Vienneau)
Gaelynn Lea was born with a disability called osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bones disease and started using a wheelchair at age two. Rather than let that diagnosis stop her or even slow her down, she has blazed a trail for herself and others by becoming a vocal advocate for many artists with disabilities.
Whether it has been with fighting the cause for accessibility of performing spaces all the way up to her opportunity to write the score for a revival of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” on Broadway, Gaelynn has resoundingly made her voice heard.
While growing up in Duluth, Lea, worked behind the scenes in her parents, Tom and Peggy White’s play and dinner theater productions. “It was an important part of my childhood,” she said. Taking on a myriad of tasks including taking tickets and working sound, she was discovering what being a part of a theatrical arts community meant to her.
Her path, however, took her instead through the music route starting when she first learned to play the violin as a young student. Because of her disability, she adapted to holding the bow like bass player, with the body of the violin in front of her, like a cello.
Gaelynn began expanding her repertoire in several different styles of music, including from her classical training, and adding blues, Celtic, traditional fiddle tunes, and many more. She started composing her own songs and adding singing to her performances.
Her big breakout moment came, however, in 2016, when she won NPR’S annual Tiny Desk Award with the song "Someday We'll Linger In The Sun.” Lea was thrilled to be chosen as the winning performance from among thousands of submissions from all fifty states.
“Winning this award changed my life in every conceivable way,” she said. It gave her a chance to play all over the country in all kinds of other musical styles with such groups and performers Wilco, The Decemberists, the industrial rock group Pigface, Michael Stipe (REM), fellow Duluth musician Alan Sparhawk of Low, and others
Touring became a bigger part of her life, and with her husband Paul Tessler, she hit the road for six months of the year. “We found we really loved traveling and seeing new places together,” she said.
Gaelynn and her husband Paul Tessier finding some roadside “friends.”
Getting bigger and bigger platforms to perform and speak, Gaelynn also became a co-founder of Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities (RAMPD). According to their website, their mission is “to amplify Disability Culture, promote equitable inclusion, and advocate for inclusive and accessible spaces in the music and live entertainment industries.”
In 2022, when she was offered the chance to compose the music for the revival of “Macbeth” on Broadway, starring Daniel Craig (James Bond) and Academy Award nominated actress Ruth Negga, Gaelynn’s career took another large leap.
This iconic Shakespeare play was directed by award-winning director Sam Gold and was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Sound Design.
Gaelynn with Director Sam Gold at the “Macbeth” Broadway opening
“Working on this big of a piece of theater was amazing. Getting to meet the actors and watching how a big Broadway production gets put together, and then being a part of it was incredible,” she said.
Winning the Whippoorwill Arts award recognized Gaelynn's talents with $25,000. As their mission statement says, they “provide opportunities for roots musicians and artists to thrive and nurture their creativity with a focus on collaboration, fair wages, equity, and social justice.”
This award will allow Gaelynn to mix, master, and produce an album of the music from her “Macbeth” score with the original music that she composed and recorded for the play. She also plans to tour with music from the album as well.
She also won a Disability Futures fellowship from the Ford and Mellon Foundations for $50,000, allowing her money to continue to pursue all the various goals of travel, public speaking, and performing.
Future goals are working with mentors in Ireland on traditional Celtic music while also connecting connect with disabled artists there. She is also excited about the memoirs she is writing about her touring adventures, music, and disability advocacy.
In 2023, Lea partnered with noted Minnesota playwright Kevin Kling to write, “Invisible Fences,” a play with music that she composed. She also acts sings, and plays in this “musical fable.”
Kling brings to the table his own tremendous list of talents. He also shares the perspectives of his own congenital birth disorder and the partial paralysis he suffered in a serious motorcycle accident.
Kevin Kling and Gaelynn Lea in Open Eye Theater’s Production of “Invisible Fences” Photo credit Bruce Silcox
“Invisible Fences” premiered at Open Eye Theater in Minneapolis with Gaelynn’s father, Tim White, directing. The show is being revived at Zeitgeist Theater, also directed by White.
Information on “Invisible Fences”
By Kevin Kling and Gaelynn Lea
Directed by Timothy White
November 7-23
At Zeitgeist Theater
222 East Superior Street
For tickets and more information visit zeitgeistarts.com
(From the Zeitgeist website)
Singer-songwriter Gaelynn Lea and storyteller-playwright Kevin Kling combine their talents in an original musical fable, which weaves together storytelling and song to create a unique theatrical experience. This production blends their internationally renowned skills in music and storytelling to create an intimate show that is rich in the wit and wisdom inherent in Disability Culture.
The Largroff (Gaelynn Lea) is a platypus who was born with a spontaneous genetic mutation that caused her to sprout wings, horns, and a snout. The Grasshopper (Kevin Kling) lost two of his limbs as a nymph, and is on a quest to get to the city for a peaceful retirement.
Together this unlikely pair embarks on a journey where they come face-to-face with different worlds, dangers, and dreams. This musical play touches on identity, disability, and the stories we tell ourselves. Featuring Kling’s signature poetic wordplay, and an array of captivating songs, written and sung by Lea, who plays her violin accompanied by George Ellsworth.
This show will be heavy on fun and adventure, while also centering accessibility and Disability Culture. Every performance will have ASL interpretation as well as projected captioning. There will also be narrated audio descriptions at the beginning of each scene to help blind and low-vision audience members better place themselves in the worlds we are creating.
