Katherine Goforth

"Trans 301:
What transitioning means to means to me
and how it can transform opera-making"

April 9th at 5pm PST

Katherine Goforth is a prize-winning vocalist known for sharing her “noble, colorful and iridescent vocal sound” (Magazin Klassik) in strong and heartfelt performances. “Goforth, with [her] virile voice, does not hold back," (The New York Times) offering vivid character portraits sung with the utmost commitment and finesse. Goforth excels in a wide-range of operatic roles. As a member of the International Opera Studio of Oper Köln, she sang Il Conte di Bandiera in Salieri’s La Scuola dei Gelosi in the Kammeroper, both Tamino and Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte für Kinder, and 3. Jude in Salome. Other recently acclaimed performances have been with Portland Opera as Spoletta in Tosca, Seattle Opera’s Jane Lang Davis Creation Lab, premiering works by Drew Swatosh and Elise Winkler, Opera Theater Oregon in WWI: A Song-Opera of Remembrance, and Lark Opera as the Father in Hansel and Gretel and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, as well as concerts with the Oregon Symphony and Portland Chamber Orchestra. Goforth is an Instructor of Voice at Clark College in Vancouver, WA and teaches at Lydian Music Studios in Portland, OR. https://katherinegoforth.com/

Samantha Williams

"American Patriots:
Storytelling Across Difference"

April 30th at 5pm PST

Samantha Rose Williams is a young professional who is committed to sharing marginalized experiences with diverse audiences and creating space for critical discussion about art, culture, and social change. After earning her B.A. at Stanford University, she received her M.M. at the University of Michigan where she is currently completing her Specialists in Music in Voice Performance. In addition to her studies, Samantha works as the Media and Marketing Relations Manager at the University Musical Society, as an Associate Director at the University of Michigan, and as the Research Fellow at the EXCEL Lab. She created and currently writes for “TypeCaste,” a blog series devoted to exploring DEI and marginalized representation in the performing arts. She hopes that through sharing nuanced stories of people of all backgrounds and beliefs, she can be a part of breaking down the walls of “us and other” and help to create a more sympathetic and equitable word.

Lauren Carlton

"Directing Intimacy
for the Operatic Stage"

April 23rd at 5pm PST

Lauren Carlton is a director, singing actor, and intimacy choreographer. She currently teaches acting and directs at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI as a Visiting Lecturer in Opera Studies. Prior to her time at Lawrence, she was the Director of Theatre and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Tabor College in Hillsboro, KS. She holds an MFA in Theatre Performance and Pedagogy from Texas Tech University and a BA in Journalism with a self-designed minor in Opera Performance from The University of Alabama. Her research and practice as an intimacy director has taken her across the United States as a presenter, educator, and choreographer. Several highlights include presentations at the National Opera Association’s National Conferences and workshops with Baylor University, Minnesota State University - Mankato, University of the Pacific, and the University of Alabama Opera Theatre. Her areas of interest and specialization are in consensual intimacy, historic representations of intimacy, and intimacy in devised theatre and new play development. Lauren is currently the intimacy choreographer for the new musical, “Here There Be Dragons” by Chase O’Neill and Theo Teris, premiering in 2022 at The Players Theatre in NYC. www.laurenccarlton.weebly.com