The Story of The Requiem Project

We were working together in New York City in 2008, when Tina received a tragic and unforgettable phone call. Lynn, her mother, had suddenly passed away. Without answers, just heartbreak, Tina returned to Cincinnati to be with her family. Months later, still with unyielding sadness, we both assessed the feasibility of working in New York in the wake of Lynn's passing. In Cincinnati, on November 11, 2008, Lynn's birthday, we crossed paths with The Emery Theatre; it was as if we were guided to the door. One hundred years ago, philanthropist Mary Emery bequeathed The Emery Theatre, a 1,600-seat, acoustically pure symphony hall, to the city for "civic betterment." The theatre has been dormant, without a vision for re-opening, for more than 15 years – and thus we found our mission and our calling: a Requiem Project in honor of Lynn.

In her lifetime, Lynn was an advocate for social awareness and change through her belief in others. She recognized the voice and soul in each person she met, and she lived as an example to all who had the pleasure of her presence. Lynn listened, to both those who had much to say and to those whose voices were seldom heard. She invested in helping others to believe in themselves, and she did so with a fierce and unparalleled grace. Lynn made the world a better place through a life led with exquisite dignity, compassion, wisdom and extraordinary kindness. Lynn listened. To voices both loud and soft. To what you can see and what you cannot. She heard. She loved and was loved. She is our inspiration, and it is our deepest desire that her message lives on.

Similarly, Mary Emery had a love, understanding and faith that high-quality art inspires individuals and communities to invest in themselves, and that inclusion and respect lead to a better society. Everyone has a voice, and The Emery, literally and metaphorically, should be a place not only to listen but also to be heard, and thus the company, The Requiem Project, was founded with the heartbeat that The Emery would be a space for creative possibility and opportunity to listen to passionate voices through artistically based programming, education and community initiatives.

Lynn has inspired us to see that a building means more than seven floors, that a theatre can be much more than a place to watch performances, and that a stage is so much more than a place to stand. We see that our community is more than the sum of our fears, and its soul depends upon our trust and belief in one another. We see that our bodies are more than our parts alone, and we know that her heart, yours and ours weigh more than the simple sum of 245 grams. November 11 is more than a bittersweet date, but it has become a sign and symbol for our company; by serendipity or plain coincidence, we were handed our first contract for The Emery on November 11, 2009. On that day, we decided that we would open the doors of the theatre on November 11, 2011 (11.11.11), and that the band Over the Rhine would play – we just put that statement into the universe, and our net has come back teeming.

On November 11, 2011, the doors of The Emery open, Over the Rhine will play, and more than 10 Cincinnati arts companies will join us, The Requiem Project, in enlivening Mary Emery's 100-year-old conviction that The Emery can be a space for art-making for the next 100 years.

We named the company Requiem, for it means reclaiming, it means resurrection, it means rising.

We are ever so proud and inspired to be part of this revival,
Tina Manchise and Tara Lindsey Gordon