From Scratch: 7 Friends, 7 Years Later - A New Opera

From Scratch: 7 Friends, 7 Years Later - An Original One-Act Chamber Opera

Have you ever returned to your hometown and tried to reconnect with people who once felt like family, but something isn’t quite right? It feels awkward, distant, and bittersweet; you’re not quite the same person you once were. That’s the core of From Scratch: 7 Friends, 7 Years Later, composed by Madeline Clara Cheng and directed by Kaitlyn Son.

Set entirely around a dinner table, seven recent college graduates reunite for a potluck, seven years after graduating high school together. Once close friends, they now navigate branching paths and are struggling to reconnect after years apart. Haley and Noah are high school sweethearts feeling stuck in life, Samantha and Jake are a volatile high-achieving ex-couple who’s been broken up for some time, Molly is the lone artist trying to make it as a New York musician, Charlotte is the nosy influencer who’s been keeping up with everyone on social media, and Leo is the host doing his best to keep everything together.

Inspired by the composer and director’s parallel upbringings as Silicon Valley Asian Americans, with a libretto by fellow Silicon Valley native Abbie Williamson, From Scratch is a deeply personal love letter to the human experience about memory, connection, and finding your way back to each other.

CAST:

Leo: Josh Feldman

Haley:Karah Rhoades

Noah: Chris Renfro

Samantha: Ashleigh Conner

Jake: Daniel Voigt

Molly: Elysa Hernandez

Charlotte: Julia Ruddy

BAND:

Piano/Conductor: Madeline Clara Cheng

Flute: Ellen Cheng

Viola: Jay Maldonado

Cello: Amy Jong

CREATIVE TEAM:

Director: Kaitlyn Son

Composer: Madeline Clara Cheng

Librettist: Abbie Williamson

Producer: Namratha Kasalanati

Poster Designer/Illustrator: Rebecca Harter-Foist

Host or Publisher Madeline Clara Cheng