The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra (2023-24)

1111 / 1110 / 1perc. / strings
13’30”

Program Note:

This music is intended as a film score to the silent movie The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra (1928), written and co-directed by Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapíc. The film depicts the misfortune of a man who arrives in Hollywood with dreams of being a star. Instead, his life begins to take increasingly demoralizing, dehumanizing, and delirious turns. Florey and Vorkapíc created their opus on a shoestring budget, and ingeniously employed lighting, various office objects, paper cutouts, and assembled toys to maximal effect. The movie's sarcastic and expressionist tone strongly resonated with me.  

Performances:

  • Jason Thorpe Buchanan and the Switch~ Ensemble, Baird Recital Hall, Buffalo, New York, June 13, 2024.

  • Kevin Fitzgerald and musicians of the Shepherd School of Music, Wortham Theater, Houston, Texas, March 19, 2024.

  • Agata Zajac, New Fromm Players, Linde Center Studio E, Lenox, Massachusetts, July 30, 2023.