Before I Wake

       Before I Wake is a dark coming of age rock opera set in 90’s rural America. The protagonist struggles to establish his independent identity as worldly temptations clash with the conformist pressures of small town values and institutions, particularly organized religion. The music encompasses a wide range of styles from rock, funk, reggae and industrial to traditional show tunes. It was produced in a black box theater at the University of Colorado at Denver in 1998. The innovative stage concept used the vehicle of a mock reality tv talk show with the protagonist the unwitting subject, several years before The Truman Show and the advent of modern reality television.