“For where the eye of the heart is, there is the treasure”

– from the Gospel of Mary (2nd Century) – banned, buried, and rediscovered

“a provocative, immersive theatrical experience”
– MorristownGreen.com

“Davis, who is onstage for most of the piece, contributes crucially, with a wide variety of gorgeous music — using string, keyboard and percussion instruments — and sound effects, creating a sonic undercurrent that holds the whole piece together. In one segment, he amplifies the sound of his hands moving water around in a bowl, to strangely hypnotic effect.

Its ending, with poetry and dancing celebrating Magdalene as a Goddess, had an urgency and a looseness that suggested that what is won by all this questioning is a form of freedom.
It was a truly grand finale.”
– Jay Lustig, NJarts.net 

“The work… is the result of deep research and cultural archeology. Reflecting upon and interpreting the myriad, oftentimes conflicting, depictions of [Mary Magdalene’s] life takes us on a journey of self discovery, through histories of art, music, theatre, culture, and religion.”
– Curator’s note by Brett Wellman Messenger, Curatorial Director, Morris Museum Live Arts 

Premiered November 4, 5, and 6, 2022 at the Bickford Theater in Morristown, NJ

Silenced as an apostle, framed as a prostitute, portrayed as the wife, mythologized as a hermit and tantric priestess, exalted as Goddess, Mary Magdalene has always been controversial and dangerous to the status quo.

I am the utterance of my name: Divining Mary Magdalene is a music-theater piece untangling and illuminating the many surrounding beliefs, myths, contradictions, iconography, and decrees, in search of Magdalene and the meaning of her radical Gospel.

Drawing from ancient texts, artworks, contemporary scholarship, and representations in contemporary culture, Sylvia Milo’s portrayal creates a prismatic image of Mary Magdalene in seven apparitions. Nathan Davis performs the rich musical score live onstage using instruments both ancient and modern – hammered dulcimer, harmonium, and hand drums – interweaving the sound design with field recordings from sites significant to the myths. A radiant video projection design and choreography expand the space — and our understanding of this essential story.

Created and performed by playwright/actress Sylvia Milo and composer/percussionist Nathan Davis, I am the utterance of my name: Divining Mary Magdalene is their second collaboration after the critically acclaimed play, The Other Mozart, about the forgotten genius sister of Amadeus.

“I am the utterance of my name” is a music-theater piece that divines the myths, beliefs, and contradictions around Mary Magdalene, created and performed by playwright/performer Sylvia Milo and composer/percussionist Nathan Davis.

They draw from diverse texts and primary sources - Biblical, Gnostic, heretical, Medieval, and modern - creating a prismatic set of portrayals by Milo. Davis plays instruments both ancient and modern - hammered dulcimer, harmonium, and hand drums - interweaving the sound design with field recordings from sites significant to the myths. Equal parts chamber opera, installation, and ritual, the work will elucidate the lattice of contradictions around Magdalene, her archetype, and her symbolism. 

photos by Steven J. Taylor

Created and Performed by Sylvia Milo and Nathan Davis
Directed by Sylvia Milo
Script by Sylvia Milo
Music and Sound Design by Nathan Davis

Movement Director: Janice Orlandi
Choreographer: Natalie Lomonte
Additional Movement: Joanna Kotze
Video and Projection Design: Monica Duncan
Costume Design: Magdalena Dąbrowska (Leaf dress and hood by Carlotta Frascara)
Lighting Design: Nick Houfek
Dramaturg: Jess Applebaum

Produced by Little Matchstick Factory, LLC

I am the utterance of my name is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support
of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

I am the utterance of my name was supported by New Music USA, made possible by annual program support and/or endowment gifts from Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Helen F. Whitaker Fund, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Howard Gilman Foundation, Anonymous.

I am the utterance of my name also received development support from Live Arts at the Morris Museum, PS21 Chatham, the Bogliasco Foundation (Italy), Baryshnikov Arts Center (NYC), All for One, and TheatreLab.

I am the utterance of my name was chosen as a finalist project for Creative Capital and promoted through “On Our Radar”.