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The telltale harp

ABOUT
TOUR DATES
REPRESENTATION

A

"The Telltale Harp" is a backstage comedy exploring the crazy, challenging, and competitive world of wedding harpists. Based on true tales from harpists across America, "Telltale" follows a wedding harpist, a church harpist, and a symphony harpist as they compete for a part on TV wedding reality show "About the Music".  The play features live on-stage harp music and occasional audience participation.

 

Co-author Laura Simpson from Wine Country Harps in Sonoma, CA arranged the score to showcase the harp's versatility and the contrasting cultural and musical backgrounds of the three protagonists. The score includes classical, pop, jazz, and Latin selections from traditional and contemporary sources. 

The play has benefited from readings in Los Angeles, Sonoma, and Washington D.C. and was work-shopped with the Washington D.C. Playwrights Forum under the mentorship of Allison Pruitt. 



 

ABOUT 
by
Laura Simpson & Lorelei Kornell

Staged Reading

directed by

scott kersnar

and presented by

pegasus theater company 

We did it! The telltale harp reading was a solid success, attracting more than 70 people to the staged reading (held January 29, 2017 in graton, ca). The resuls were an incredibly generous flow of donations and the chance for a full production of the play in 2018. a friend of the Telltale Harp authors took some great photos of the cast in action and our harpist, sarah voynow, playing the score. 
The playwrights: 
Laura Simpson
is one of the country's foremost harpists. Her extensive career includes performances around the globe. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Laura is the resident harpist at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and has performed extensively at the Fairmont Hotel and many other hotels worldwide. Laura's wide range of material and versatility puts her in demand for corporate events as well as for dozens of weddings and winery events each year.
L.A. kornell is a graduate of UCSB's College of Creative Studies and a longtime writer, editor, ghostwriter, TV writer, and literary midwife. She works in an art gallery in Maryland and is currently finishing "Deerskin", a play about colonial life in South Carolina.
Scheherazade - Rimsky-Korsakov
00:00 / 00:00
Clair de Lune - Claude Debussy
00:00 / 00:00
Por Amor - Rafael Solano
00:00 / 00:00

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From the Bay Area Chapter of the American Harp Society December Newsletter:

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Laura Simpson

by Suki Russack

 

Interviewing Laura Simpson, I was struck by her clear understanding of her own capabilities and talents. She knows that her incredible ear for tunes and harmonic structure allows her to work with ease in the challenging field of popular improvised styling. To be able to make a living as Laura does, working almost every day as the harpist in the main lobby at the U.C. Medical Center, she takes the harp far beyond the expectations of many harpists and listeners alike. People from all different backgrounds approach her to play their special requests as they deal with the trauma and fears associated with injury, illness, or concern for loved ones receiving treatment. Laura provides this vulnerable segment of our population with comfort and relaxation through her music and her outgoing, caring nature. Search the internet for “Laura Simpson harp” and you’ll find videos posted by people whose lives she has touched through her hospital work.

Laura’s education is quite diverse. She studied anthropology as an undergraduate at University of California, Santa Barbara, then music (voice and harp) at Trinity College of Music in London, at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, at London University, and at the Froebel Institute in London. She holds a Licentiate degree in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and a California Single Subject (Music) teaching credential. Her worldwide residencies include the Four Seasons Hotel, London; the Intercontinental Hotel in Bahrain; Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach; the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles; and the Fairmont and Ritz Carlton Hotels in San Francisco. She currently performs for Afternoon Tea during the Christmas holiday season as the resident harpist year-round at both The Palace and The Ritz in San Francisco. Laura has produced two CD's: “Tea Time” and “Laura,” which can be purchased at the UCSF Gift Shop or by contacting her at lauras6@prodigy.net.

 

Laura was instrumental in transforming BACAHS into the society it is today. In 2006 Laura and Karen Gottlieb energized a small, mostly social chapter by organizing the very successful American Harp Society National Conference in San Francisco, along with Elaine Coombs and Celeste Misfeldt. Since that time, BACAHS has become an important resource for students, teachers and harp professionals. Laura has been a member of the American Harp Society since she was 22 years old, and continues to be an active participant in Chapter activities.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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