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- La Befana · 2026
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- Mother of All Shows
The Christmas Witch Trial of La Befana
HighballTV
Three children put the Christmas witch La Befana on trial for bringing them coal instead of oranges.
Co-written by David James Brock and Melissa D’Agostino from an idea conceived with director Matt Campagna. The hybrid animated and live-action feature stars Anjelica Huston and Danny Huston, with new songs created with composer Rebecca Everett.
The work
Released films and cross-form work, with the creative contribution and response made explicit.
01 Complete visual album · Four/Ten Media and Navona Records Gilgamesh
Eleven poetic tablets reframe the ancient epic around power, friendship, grief, mortality, and the doomed wish to outlast death. Film, dance, art song, and poetry occupy the same cinematic world.
Libretto by David James Brock; music by J. Scott Brubacher. Performed by baritone Stephen Lancaster, pianist Susan McDaniel, and dancer-choreographer Kyle Marshall; filmed by Four/Ten Media.
Watch the visual album“A captivating backdrop for Brubacher and Brock’s artistry.”
— Navona Records02 
Canadian roadshow poster · Mother of All Shows Mother of All Shows
Facing the death of her estranged mother, Liza retreats into a 1970s variety show hosted by the woman she cannot reconcile with. The musical ‘traumedy’ turns family history into songs, sketches, commercials, and one final confrontation.
Co-written by David James Brock and director-star Melissa D’Agostino, starring Wendie Malick. Brock, D’Agostino, and Rebecca Everett’s song “Mothers and Daughters, Daughters and Moms” received a Canadian Screen Award nomination.
Watch on Apple TV“The entertaining result feels a bit like Mommy Dearest and Chicago … on SCTV.”
— Glenn Sumi · Recommended03 Full performance film · Piano Lunaire and Tapestry Opera, 2022 A Joke Before the Gallows
Four monologues and Chopin’s four scherzi meet at the edge of catastrophe. Conceived for a live audience during the pandemic, the work became a film without surrendering the tension of an acting pianist alone in the room.
Text by David James Brock for Adam Sherkin; directed for film by Tom Diamond. The premiere paired live performance and screening through Tapestry Opera’s adapted 2022 season.
Watch and read“Darkly funny, thought-provoking.”
— Tapestry Opera