Deep Water Workshop

CAST

Val: Lindsey Rae Johnson
Bluejay: Lisa Neher
Additional Cast TBD
​Stephen Lewis, pianist & vocal coach

CREATIVE TEAM

Caroline Louise Miller, composer & librettist
Christine Freije, stage director
Solomon Weisbard, lighting designer
Eli Cannon, sculpture artist

June 18-21, 2026
Boiler Room Theatre, Portland State University, Portland, OR

ABOUT THE SHOW

Deep Water is a post-apocalyptic fantasy opera that investigates rage, grief, play, & persistence in the face of gargantuan, destructive forces. Themes include the role of play in affirming our humanity, extending love & care to the non-human (animals, ecosystems etc.), impermanence/permanence, & legibility/obscurity. Deep Water will include devised theater elements.

It is 400 years in the future. Val & Bluejay, teenage companions, were chosen in the 21st century to document the fall of humanity during the Anthropocene, cursed to walk to the earth as immortals to fulfill this duty. Deep Water is in the form of episodes… Some feature “travelers” exploring a climate-changed world, with Val & Bluejay on the periphery acting as witnesses and documentarians. In other episodes, Val & Bluejay banter, reminisce, play, & affirm their love. 

Deep Water takes tonal influence from Tamysn Muir’s short story “The Deepwater Bride,” a sapphic apocalyptic love story that is underpinned by the observation that society is deeply afraid of youth, particularly girls and queer youth, often rendering them frivolous or powerless in narratives. Deep Water positions 2 queer teenagers in the role of history-creation, defining what is worth preserving.

--Caroline Louise Miller, Composer & Librettist

Lindsey Rae Johnson, soprano

Lisa Neher, mezzo

Stephen Lewis, pianist

Christine Freije, stage director

Caroline Louise Miller
​Composer & Librettist

Caroline Louise Miller (they/them) is a US composer based in Portland, Oregon. Common themes in their work include affect, ecology, labor politics, tactility, and the materiality of media, often within dreamlike musical spaces that thread field recordings, shimmering textures, and romantic melodic lines through harsh noise and clattering dissonances. They have enjoyed wide-ranging collaborations, and have been supported by numerous grants, fellowships, and commissions. These have most recently included funding through Seattle Modern Orchestra, Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, Sonic Matter Festival, Alarm Will Sound/Matt Marks Impact Fund, SPLICE Ensemble, Chamber Music America, Guerilla Opera, Transient Canvas, Ensemble Adapter, and others. Their music is performed nationally and internationally.
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Miller has collaborated with writers, artists, filmmakers, oceanographers, limnologists, and others. In 2014, Miller worked as an artist-in-residence aboard a Scripps Institution of Oceanography research vessel in the Philippine Sea, sailing from Kaohsiung, Taiwan to Koror, Palau. Field recordings from the ship were used to compose the score for a feature-length experimental documentary by Lyndsay Bloom about daily life aboard the ship. Their multimedia installation Here There: (Re)collecting Labor on the American Railway, co-created with artist Stefani Byrd and featuring a score recorded with Alarm Will Sound, incorporates field recordings and video footage taken on an expedition to endangered historic sites in Northern California, and has been exhibited internationally.  From 2012-2017, Miller organized and curated an annual experimental music and cross-disciplinary collaborative showcase at the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla. At Portland State, Miller co-organizes ReWire Festival, an annual spring showcase of work involving collaborations between SAMP and Theater. 

Miller is currently Assistant Professor of Sonic Arts at Portland State University, where they teach courses including electronic music composition, songwriting, studio production, and music for visual media. Their songwriting class is designed as an inclusive, student-led workshop culminating in an annual multi-genre showcase of songs. They a hold a Ph.D in Music from UC San Diego, and a Bachelor of Music from UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. In their spare time, they enjoy field recording and learning about zoology.