WHO: Accordionatrix to upcoming avant rock opera Lady M, in which a combination of dance, theater, and music expose the Bard's most famous maiden--Lady Macbeth--for the contemporary diva she always was.

What would the traditional Lady Macbeth say to your Lady M?

The first thing she would say is, "Girl, what are you up to?" because we've taken extreme liberties with the story. What we're doing has nothing to do with the plot of the original Macbeth; it's drawing on the thematics of the play.

How so?

It's all about her struggle with power, and Lady M's position as the female manipulator. There's death, there's love, there's betrayal. That's a timeless story. Watching people disintegrate is still incredibly disturbing. It's like turning on reality TV.

You just returned from New York. Do you think the audience there was different than Portland?

New York audiences are supposedly trained to be more open to the "new and strange" than here. But Portland audiences are much more supportive of local talent on all sides of the creative fence. Here we are looking forward to the diversity of people from all the different corners of art--rock, dance, visual arts, god knows what else. In New York, it was more of a straight-up dance crowd. That was no fun for the accordion player.

What's your favorite moment?

There's one part of the show where there's absolute synchronization with the Lady M, the music, the video projection behind her, and the dancers surrounding her. Watching the physicality of that just blows my mind. Oh, and of course, I also love the scenes with the witches. Part of Jennifer's choreography has them moving in such a way that it actually looks as if they're flying. It's brilliantly spooky.