ABOUT THE HUMMINGBIRD
THE HUMMINGBIRD
a solo musical experience
“the inextinguishable fire of a true artist” San Francisco Chronicle
Book and Lyrics by Kathryn Keats
Music by Kathryn Keats and Kevin Gerzevitz
Developed with David Ford
Developed with Support of Berkeley Repertory The Ground Floor
Commissioned by The Marsh Theatre Marsh Musical Voices
In the early '80s Kathryn Keats was a promising young musician and performer who had performed Off- Broadway and on television. But for nearly two decades she hid under an assumed identity because her boyfriend's schizophrenia transformed him from a beloved music collaborator into a stranger with homicidal delusions. When he died, Keats began writing and performing music again. “The Hummingbird” follows her desperate attempts to save the man she loved and then her courageous efforts to save herself - the show is a high wire musical ride - taking us into in a world where genius crosses the line to insanity and love becomes the enemy. Understanding, humor, inspiration and resilience are woven into the 15 characters of the show. The music and lyrics give voice to those asking; how do we handle our most difficult experiences and remain familiar to our-selves, changed though we are, how do we stay truly alive?
PAST PERFORMANCES OF THE HUMMINGBIRD
The San Francisco Marsh Studio Theater 2023
the Marsh Berkeley 2022
Marsh Stream International Solo Fest 2020
Residency with Berkeley Reperory's Ground Floor Theatre 2012
The team
ABOUT KATHRYN KEATS
Kathryn Keats is a performance artist, playwright and songwriter who reemerged in show business after 20 years of anonymity with the help of the Victim Witness Assistance Program after her former partner and music collaborator, plagued by schizophrenia, began threatening her life, holding her in their apartment for 54 days. This experience culminated in a precedent-setting jury trial in Oakland, California, in which her partner was remanded into the custody of the State Dept. of Mental Health for treatment for 6 months. At the urging of law enforcement officials, she changed her name to Kathryn Keats and put her promising show business career on hold until 2005, when she learned that her partner had died. She is a frequent keynote speaker and guest artist at community outreach events, podcasts and panels including Center for Domestic Peace, Reimagine,YWCA, NPR, Partners Ending Domestic Abuse, Center for Domestic Peace, Clothesline Project, Chefs Without Borders, Solo Arts Heal, Grief Dialogues, Missing Pieces, that raise awareness about mental illness and domestic violence. Keats has been involved in music and theatre since the age of five. She initially studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Early in her career, she toured the country with a successful off-Broadway show. Her work has included national commercials, television, soundtracks and recordings. Keats has played such well-known venues as the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, the Bitter End and Symphony Space in NYC. Her first recorded full-length CD, After the Silence, introduced her music and her amazing story to the public followed by works with Grammy award winning producer Narada Michael Walden and Pete Sears.
Kathryn Keats shares her experience in order to create space for healing and to inspire strength others.
ABOUT KEVIN GERZEVITZ
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kevin Gerzevitz is a professional musician, composer and teacher. He frequently performs as jazz organist with the B3B4 Organ Jazz Quartet, and as a pianist and bandleader with The KG Trio. In his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gerzevitz attended the University of Michigan School of Music, focusing on piano performance, jazz studies, improvisation, and composition while majoring in Music Theory and German. Upon earning his BMA in 1990, he relocated to the Bay Area where he worked as a freelance pianist, composer, and teacher. Gerzevitz attended Mills College from 2003 to 2005 to innovate his approach to teaching music, earning certifications in Levels I, II, and III as an Orff Schulwerk instructor. Since 2008, he has worked as the Music & Movement Specialist at Pacific Primary Orange Sun School in San Francisco. Gerzevitz has scored several independent films and has produced music for advertising, web, multimedia and theater. Kevin Gerzevitz Shares
ABOUT TINA D’ELIA
Tina D’Elia is a mixed-race Latina lesbian/queer identified feminist artist and professional Actor (SAG-AFTRA). In 2015, she received the Executive Producer and Trail Blazer Awards from the Equality International Film Festival for the diverse and authentic content in her work, the prominent roles of women of color/queer/trans characters in her stories, and her diverse casting work with communities of color and LGBTQ communities. Her award-winning solo show The Rita Hayworth of this Generation garnered Best of Fringe and Best of Sold Out Shows at the 2015 San Francisco Fringe Festival.