Thank you for joining us at our Spring 2024 fundraiser. Please enjoy as our Emcee, Leni Travis, takes us through our program featuring STANCE's multi-talented singers.
All funds raised at this event will go directly towards paying our Artistic Directors and support our programming focused on celebrating trans joy.
Lyrics | Dos oruguitas enamoradas Pasan sus noches y madrugadas Llenas de hambre Siguen andando y navegando un mundo Que cambia y sigue cambiando Navegando un mundo Que cambia y sigue cambiando Dos oruguitas paran el viento Mientras se abrazan con sentimiento Siguen creciendo, no saben cuándo Buscar algún rincón El tiempo sigue cambiando Inseparables son El tiempo sigue cambiando Ay, oruguitas, no se aguanten más Hay que crecer aparte y volver Hacia adelante seguirás Vienen milagros, vienen crisálidas Hay que partir y construir su propio futuro Ay, oruguitas, no se aguanten más Hay que crecer aparte y volver Hacia adelante seguirás Vienen milagros, vienen crisálidas Hay que partir y construir su propio futuro Dos oruguitas desorientadas En dos capullos bien abrigadas Con sueños nuevos Ya solo falta hacer lo necesario En el mundo que sigue cambiando Tumbando sus paredes Ahí viene nuestro milagro Nuestro milagro Nuestro milagro Nuestro milagro Ay, mariposas, no se aguanten más Hay que crecer aparte y volver Hacia adelante seguirás Ya son milagros, rompiendo crisálidas Hay que volar, hay que encontrar Su propio futuro Ay mariposas, no se aguanten más Hay que crecer aparte y volver Hacia adelante seguirás Ya son milagros, rompiendo crisálidas Hay que volar, hay que encontrar Su propio futuro Ay mariposas, no se aguanten más Hay que crecer aparte y volver Hacia adelante seguirás Ya son milagros, rompiendo crisálidas Hay que volar, hay que encontrar Su propio futuro
Lyrics | English Translation Two oruguitas In love and yearning Spend every evening And morning learning To hold each other Their hunger burning To navigate a world That turns, and never stops turning Together in this world That turns, and never stops turning Two oruguitas Against the weather The wind grows colder But they’re together They hold each other No way of knowing They’re all they have for shelter And something inside them is growing They long to stay together But something inside them is growing Ay, oruguitas Don’t you hold on too tight Both of you know It’s your time to grow To fall apart, to reunite Wonders await you Just on the other side Trust they’ll be there And start to prepare The way for tomorrow Ay, oruguitas Don’t you hold on too tight Both of you know It’s your time to grow To fall apart, to reunite Wonders await you Just on the other side Trust they’ll be there Start to prepare The way for tomorrow Two oruguitas Cocooned and waiting Each in their own world Anticipating What happens after The rearranging? And so afraid of change In a world that never stops changing So let the walls come down The world will never stop changing (Never stop changing) (Never stop changing) (Never stop changing) Ay, mariposas Don’t you hold on too tight Both of you know It’s your time to go To fly apart, to reunite Wonders surround you Just let the walls come down Don’t look behind you Fly till you find Your way toward tomorrow Ay, mariposas Don’t you hold on too tight Both of you know It’s your time to go To fly apart, to reunite Wonders surround you Just let the walls come down Don’t look behind you Fly till you find Your way toward tomorrow Ay, mariposas Don’t you hold on too tight Both of you know It’s your time to go To fly apart, to reunite Wonders surround you Just let the walls come down Don’t look behind you Fly till you find Your way toward tomorrow
Words | Ugh, this email would go faster if I could use all four sets of talons. But the keyboard by my feet is broken. Send. Finally. I flutter to the fountain and land on the button. Water fills the basin. I dip my beak in and drink. I glance at the clock. Fifteen minutes before the fifth hand reaches the red sticker. Why did I put that sticker there? Ah, yes. I leave the house, stand on the perch, spread my wings and fly into the night. I pass the other houses above and around. There's a hint of frost along the outer walls and on the poles holding them up. Glad I remembered to repair the insulation during polar day. Bright aurora streak all over the sky amidst a million stars. Scythe, the smaller moon, is in waning crescent. The larger one, Mausoleum, is full. I love polar night. It's nearly over, though. Two weeks till polar day and then those blasted songbirds will chirp for three whole months until sunset. Half a year! Forget it. Be in the moment. Enjoy what's left of the night. I glide, gaze around, then see it. The brightest star, only it's not a star but a planet. Second one from the sun: Belle, our world's twin. I've read so many stories about it. A lush world shrouded in thick clouds. Slightly larger than us and a hair closer to the sun, Belle is teaming with life. "Hey!" a voice caws at me. It’s my friend Carla, who works at Observatory 9, sixty miles away. "Glad I'm not the only one who's late," she says. "Late. Oh! The meeting." Carla laughs. "Come with me." We fly past the city to a forest of evergreen trees. I tell Carla about the latest story I've read about Belle, one with sentient dinosaurs. "Oh, that's...nice", she says quietly. She starts to say something else but stops. We reach a cliff near the frigid ocean. A kraken breaks through the surface and screams, waving its tentacles wildly. I roll my eyes. Like anyone's swimming out there. But yes, Kraken, you're totally a menace to society. We settle into a tree at the edge of the cliff. "Nice of you to grace us with your presence, Carla," someone says. Soon it's Carla's turn. I can't wait. She works at a freaking observatory! She's so cool! "I just flew in from The Ninth Observatory," she says. "Boy am I tired." The others caw sympathetically. It's a real problem. "As you know, we have been studying the planet Belle to learn more about the climate of this fascinating world." "I can't wait to find out what kind of creatures live there!" someone shouts. Carla pauses. "Right," she says. She takes a deep breath. "All preliminary findings indicate NOTHING could live there." No, that can't be right. There's a lot of commotion before Carla gets another word in. "We've studied the radiation from Belle extensively. It's hot enough to melt lead. Hotter than--" "You're mistaken!" someone shouts. Carla inhales deeply. "No interruptions," she says, glaring round. "We've published our paper. You can read it yourself. Belle is hotter than the innermost world. A colleague has data suggesting the air is far denser than ours. Another has been studying atmospheric composition. High concentration of greenhouse gasses suggests runaway--" Someone else scoffs. "Global warming? Please." He gestures at the frost. Carla glares at him icily. "As I said, no interruptions." She spreads her wings and takes off. "There are twelve other papers from two observatories in the works, liable to be published before sunrise. If you think you can do better, check our work." She flies away. I fly after her. "Wait!" She flies higher. "Carla!" We're too high now. She stops and settles into a glide. "So now you know. I've ruined Belle for you. Those stories aren't just wrong, they're off base." "Carla," I say quietly. She starts crying. "I'm already getting hate mail. I don't want you to hate me too" "Carla, you've made that planet so much more interesting! How could I hate you?" She glances back and smiles. "Besides," I say, "it's not like it's the only one. There's planet Sledgehammer, fourth one. Endless desert, with canals built by a dying civilization!" Carla is silent. I look at her. "What? What did I say?"
Lyrics by The Zombies The warmth of your love Is like the warmth of the sun And this will be our year Took a long time to come don't let go of my hand Now darkness has gone And this will be our year Took a long time to come and I won't forget The way you held me up when I was down And I won't forget the way you said, "Darling I love you" You gave me faith to go on Now we're there and we've only just begun This will be our year Took a long time to come The warmth of your smile Smile for me, little one And this will be our year Took a long time to come You don't have to worry All your worried days are gone This will be our year Took a long time to come and I won't forget The way you held me up when I was down And I won't forget the way you said, "Darling I love you" You gave me faith to go on Now we're there and we've only just begun And this will be our year Took a long time to come Yeah we only just begun Yeah this will be our year Took a long time to come
Lyrics | Chinese + English Translation 夜深深 deep is the night 聲悄悄 whispering are the voices 月色昏暗 obscured and dim is the moon 風淒淒影搖搖 the doleful wind shakes the shadows 隕星曳空怪鳥長鳴 stars falling, strange birds screaming 一路行來無人煙 I am alone on this road 嚇得我膽戰心寒 it terrifies me and gives me the chills 寒--- chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill--- 佳人贈金 my love sends me off with a gift 情意重 a token of her love 使我又愧 it makes me embarrassed 又喜歡 but brings me joy 眼見園門正半掩 I see the garden shed's door is ajar 想必是雪春在裡面 I bet her courier is just inside
Lyrics | I'm giving it my all But I'm heading for a fall When all that I can do Is run faster For something less than I am worth As I tumble down to Earth But all that I can do Is run faster Please listen to the way I feel I need to get some more time to heal My lungs are getting ready to explode I can't run any faster I get the feeling I should leave It's getting harder to believe You don't know what it is I'm going through I'm running faster How can you tell me what to do If I am dead I will not see things through What you want isn't easy done or said I'd like to see you run faster I've given you my all But I'm ready for a fall When all you let me do Is run faster I've given you my all But I'm ready for a fall When all you let me do Is run faster
Lyrics | Your head is in the cloud You don't know who you are Try to do everything you can Spread yourself too far Everything that you want to know How to come undone Boiling over, time to kill In the frozen sun Everything that we used to know Has a zero sum Ice cubes in the goldfish bowl Where we've come undone Nerves of tissue, lung of steel Sleep until we're dead Warm the soul with antifreeze A frozen mind instead
Lyrics | Whoa oh oh, for the longest time… Waking up beside you is the best, No you go first, I’ll stay here and rest Glad I bought paper Minty kisses I will wait for I can hold my bladder for the longest time Gosh, you must have really had to go! Next time don’t drink so much H2O I could dry shave, true. Did you fall in? I will save you! You’ve been in the bathroom for the longest time Whoa oh oh oh etc x 2 I’ve considered peeing in the sink Gets the dishes cleaner, don’t you think? I’m only joking (Till the turtle’s head starts poking) This hasn’t happened for the longest time Gee it sure has taken a while There’s tucks on the shelf if you’ve got the piles Darling, thinking about you makes me blush While I listen for that flush Will you pass me my toothbrush? I don’t care what consequence is on My rear’s dire, I must use the john Please heed my warning. Must we do this EVERY morning? You use the bathroom for the longest time I’m ten seconds late for my shift My boss’ll give me hell, I can tell that he’s pissed You know you’re the one who I adore But step back from that door cause I can’t hold it no more I thought that would take a stronger kick ‘Spec’ly when I’m squeezing - what the heck? You must be joking. Didn’t know that window opened You mean it’s been empty this entire time??? Whoa oh oh, in the bathroom for the longest Whoa oh oh in the bathroom for the longest… (Two more repeats of refrain fading out)
What's the time? Well it's gotta be close to midnight My body's talking to me, it says, "Time for danger" It says, "I wanna commit a crime Wanna be the 'cause of a fight" I wanna put on a tight skirt and flirt with a stranger I've had a knack from way back of breaking the rules Once I learn the games Get up, life's too quick, I know someplace sick Where this chick'll dance in the flames We don't need any money I always get in for free You can get in too, if you get in with me Let's go out tonight I have to go out tonight You wanna play? Let's run away We won't be back before it's Christmas day Take me out tonight, meow When I get a wink from the doorman Do you know how lucky you'll be? That you're online with the feline of Avenue B Let's go out tonight I have to go out tonight You wanna prowl? Be my night owl? Well take my hand We're gonna howl out tonight In the evening, I've got to roam Can't sleep in the city of neon and chrome Feels too damn much like home When the Spanish babies cry So let's find a bar, so dark we forget who we are And all the scars, let the nevers and maybes die Let's go out tonight I have to go, na-na-na, out tonight Oh, you're sweet, wanna hit the street? Wanna wail at the moon like a cat in heat? Just take me out tonight Please take me out tonight Don't forsake me, out tonight I'll let you make me out tonight Tonight, tonight, tonight
Please check our our auction items in the fireside room, and place your final bids or purchase more delicious bake sale items! The auction will close at 9pm.
Le Grande Tango was written by Astor Piazzolla, a 20th century Argentinian composer who revolutionized modern tango music. The piece is a raunchy dance between the cello and the piano that will make you want to tango yourself! Rosemary has been looking for the chance to play this piece again since 2017; she is thrilled to have the opportunity to do so with Kaelee in this season's talent show.
Program Notes | Yentl is from the 1983 movie that was produced, directed, written by, and starring Barbra Streisand. It was based on a short fiction story by Isaac Bashevis Singer about an Orthodox Jewish woman in the early 20th century who secretly studied Talmud (Jewish holy books) with her father, even though it was forbidden for women to do so. After her father died, she dressed and presented as a man so that she could enter a yeshiva to continue her studies. The story Streisand tells is ultimately a rejection of the need to hide who you are in order to access the things that bring joy and meaning to your life.
Accompanist
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Kaelee Alicia Bolme
Dedication
Molly is dedicating their performance tonight to fellow choir member, Hannah Oshlag, bass.
Lyrics | There's not a morning I begin Without a thousand questions Running through my mind That I don't try to find the reason And the logic in the world That God design The reason why, a bird was given wings If not to fly, and praise the sky With every song it sings What's right or wrong Where I belong Within the scheme of things And why have eyes that see And arms that reach Unless you're meant to know there's Something more If not to hunger for the meaning of it all Then tell me what a soul is for Why have the wings unless you're meant to fly And tell me please why have a mind If not to question why And tell me where Where is it written what it is I'm meant to be That I can't dare to have the chance to Pick the fruit of every tree Or have my share of every sweet imagined possibility Just tell me where, where is it written, tell me where If I were only meant to tend the nest Then why does my imagination sail Across the mountains and the seas Beyond the make-believe of any fairy tale Why have the thirst if not to drink the wine And what a waste to have a taste Of things that can't be mine And tell me where Where is it written what it is I'm meant to be That I can't dare to see the meanings In the mornings that I see Or have my share of every sweet imagined possibility Just tell me where, where is it written, tell me where Or if it's written anywhere
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Words | there is a door in my heart. -- good morning, i love you. we never wake up at the same time and i can never really see you but i know when you're around and when you're not. -- i meet you in a park and you are beautiful not in a way that means anything special to me just that you're nice to look at and i think i'd like to look at you a little longer there is a door in my heart and i feel it open to let you in. your eyes sparkle when they're fixed on me there's nothing special in them but i feel special anyway and when we talk i think that maybe something out there is changing for me you settle in without even realizing. it's not a good time for you and when i call, you don't always come i try to come for you, even when you make it hard it's okay, i tell myself, because you live in my heart you opened the door, so i don't mind that it's hard. there is a door in my heart and the frame shudders when you slam it behind you. -- good afternoon, i love you. i've never been worth paying attention to so i almost don't notice it but once i do, it's impossible to forget it's always there on the edge of my mind. -- i meet you in a crystal shop and you have so much jewelry it glitters and sparkles on your fingers, at your throat, around your wrists it catches and refracts the light and somehow i never consider it might be doing the same thing to you there is a door in my heart and you pick the lock. you teach me wonderful things i think i'll never have the opportunity to know again and i cling to you with desperation because i need your knowledge like i've never needed anything you settle in, with a little work. one day you take the jewels off and under them all you're normal i'm not disappointed by this, except that it turns out the jewels were the thing that i wanted and all of them were fake. there is a door in my heart and this time i hear the wood splinter when it closes. -- good evening, i love you. you go to bed before i do, sometimes by hours but i stay awake, thinking about you in all your warped, distorted glory and wondering if I know who you are. -- i meet you on the internet, and there are a thousand of you i meet you, and i meet you, and i meet you again. i can't identify you anymore, you take so many shapes you have so many names, i don't know which ones are you but there is a door in my heart and you smash it the fuck down. i would like to stop meeting you, i think you have taken so much of me, bit by bit tiny increments i didn't, couldn't notice until everything i thought i was is lost you always settle in, even when it's hard. (you made it hard) the things you do leave behind for me are never quite the same as they were your touch has tarnished and corrupted them beyond my recognition. there is a ruined door in my heart and you seem determined to tear it off its hinges. -- good night, i love you. i dream of you too often, now and you're split along the wrong axes sometimes you'll take a bullet for me but you won't look me in the eye sometimes you scream obscenities as you wrap a jacket around my shivering shoulders my dreams don't know what to do with you any more than my irregular heartbeat does. -- there is a door in my heart and it won't stay closed. i've tried to teach it how to be a wall so it could stop breaking itself but, i suppose, doors can't really learn how to be walls any more than i could learn to be worth loving i have locked it, barred it, sealed it with plaster i've shoved new occupants out without so much as a goodbye and yet, every time i meet you, it opens up with ease and i know it's forgotten what i taught it again i'm terrified, you know. you are in my heart right now. if you try to break through the door again i won't stop you. i'll let you go. i'll even be okay. i'll never let myself keep hurting you after you're gone no matter how much you love to hurt me. i'll simply have to stop meeting you if i can only figure out how i guess i'll have to adjust how my my heart beats to make sure everything fits right. -- there is no door in my heart but there is a hole in the wall.
Composer
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Lena Raine (1984-)
Arranger
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Jade Dikelsky
Program Notes | Simmer Springs is both a song title and town in the video game Chicory, set in the magical land of Picnic Province. Lena Raine is a trans woman originally from Seattle. She was awarded ASCAP’s Video Game Score of the Year for her score of Celeste. She also wrote music for games such as Guild Wars 2 and Minecraft. Simmer Springs is “its own little respite from the stresses of the world, letting you chill out… or solve a mystery?” To us, STANCE is a place where we can both go on exciting adventures and create truly extraordinary things. We hope you see a piece of that journey tonight!
Performers
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Emmalyn King
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Yoshi Das
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Ry Pearson
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Lee Bressel
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Mitchie Vega
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Tesseract King
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wing (puppy mode)
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Thea Bolton
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Jade Dikelsky
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Lyrics | There, out in the darkness A fugitive running Fallen from God Fallen from grace God be my witness I never shall yield 'Til we come face to face 'Til we come face to face He knows his way in the dark Mine is the way of the Law Those who follow the path of the righteous Shall have their reward And if they fall as Lucifer fell The flames The sword! Stars In your multitudes Scarce to be counted Filling the darkness With order and light You are the sentinels Silent and sure Keeping watch in the night Keeping watch in the night You know your place in the sky You hold your course and your aim And each in your season Returns and returns And is always the same And if you fall as Lucifer fell You fall in flame! And so it must be, for so it is written On the doorway to paradise That those who falter and those who fall Must pay the price! Lord, let me find him That I may see him Safe behind bars I will never rest 'Til then This I swear This I swear by the stars!
Accompanist
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Kaelee Alicia Bolme
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Lyrics | Hold my hand, know I’m here, I’m not going anywhere Know that I, I will stay, through the darkness and the hurt, You have taught me to love myself and I will stay Cause rejection, confusion, this hurt and illusion can’t hold me back Oh, I know I am so much more than that Sing a song of pure delight or of pain, know it doesn’t matter, my love is real You have taught me to love myself and I will stay Cause rejection, confusion, this hurt and illusion can’t hold me back Oh, I know I am so much more than that I know we’ll find more love and faith everyday if we sing and we hold each other close You have taught me to love myself and I will stay Cause rejection, confusion, this hurt and illusion can’t hold us back Oh, I know we are so much more than that What we’ve been through, what we have faced, how much we’ve lost can’t be regained, but through each other, we find strength Oh, I know we are so much more, Oh, I know we are so much more
Lyrics | I only want to say If there is a way Take this cup away from me For I don't want to taste its poison Feel it burn me I have changed I'm not as sure, as when we started Then, I was inspired Now, I'm sad and tired Listen, surely I've exceeded expectations Tried for three years, seems like thirty Could you ask as much from any other man? But if I die See the saga through and do the things you ask of me, Let them hate me, hit me, hurt me, nail me to their tree I'd want to know, I'd want to know, my God I'd want to know, I'd want to know, my God Want to see, I'd want to see, my God Want to see, I'd want to see, my God Why I should die Would I be more noticed than I ever was before? Would the things I've said and done matter any more? I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord Have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord Have to see, I'd have to see, my Lord Have to see, I'd have to see, my Lord If I die what will be my reward? If I die what will be my reward? Have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord Why should I die? Oh why should I die? Can you show me now that I would not be killed in vain? Show me just a little of your omnipresent brain Show me there's a reason for your wanting me to die You're far to keen and where and how, but not so hot on why Alright, I'll die! Just watch me die! See how I die! Then I was inspired Now, I'm sad and tired After all, I've tried for three years, seems like ninety Why then am I scared to finish what I started What you started, I didn't start it God, thy will is hard But you hold every card I will drink your cup of poison Nail me to your cross and break me Bleed me, beat me Kill me Take me, now! Before I change my mind
Land & Labor Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge that we rehearse and perform on the land of the first peoples of Seattle: the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Stillaguamish, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes, past and present and commit to honor with gratitude the land itself and the stewardship of these indigenous tribes. We encourage you to join us in this commitment by contributing to the local Heron's Nest Outdoor Education and Restorative Justice program and Real Rent Duwamish.
We respectfully acknowledge the enslaved people, primarily of African descent, on whose exploited labor this country is built, with little to no recognition. Today, we are indebted to their labor and the labor of the many Black and brown people that continue to work in the shadows for our collective benefit. We also support the #BlackVoicesMatter movement and pledge to work towards anti-racism in all aspects of our music.
Thank You
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To Karaoke Kellen for being amazing AV Lead.
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To Jenn Odell for being our wonderful Volunteer Lead.
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To Jules Hepp for their dedication and hard work organizing our auction.
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To Rosemary De Luca for coordinating the performances.
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To all of the donors for the incredible items you see in our auction.
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To the performers who created the beautiful music and poetry you came out to hear tonight.
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To Rainier Beach Presbyterian Church for the use of your space this evening.
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To everyone who donated their time and labor to creating delicious items for your to enjoy in our bake sale.
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The Seattle Trans and Nonbinary Choral Ensemble, better known as STANCE, was founded in 2022 as the first chorus that is led by and for gender diverse singers in Washington. Our mission is to provide a vocal community free of gendered expectations to explore and express ourselves through music. We have rapidly grown from a grassroots movement to our current 77 member capacity. And with your support, we hope to eventually expand to include a trans youth chorus.