Thomas Myrmel presents: Opera in development: The Task of Being
Line up: Kafka comes to Minneapolis: ICE occupation & Neighborism

Following an initial residency with soloists Laura Bohn and Kevin Walton, Thomas Myrmel presents scenes and fragments that form the foundation for The Task of Being, a new music theatre production in collaboration with Orkest de Ereprijs.

Drawing on texts by Kafka and Beckett, as well as personal testimonies from Minneapolis, The Task of Being explores how an individual can resist oppression — not only the power of the state, but also the loneliness that such power can create. When people become isolated from one another, resistance becomes more difficult. But what happens when people manage to find their way back to one another?

The performance unfolds in a Kafkaesque, associative world in which personal stories and political events become intertwined. From Minneapolis emerges a possible answer: Neighborism — the idea that connection between neighbors is not only a means of resistance, but perhaps its deeper purpose.

Personal Connection
Thomas: “This subject is deeply personal to me. I am originally from Minneapolis and moved back there in 2019, where I lived until 2023 with my husband and our two children. During those years, our community experienced an extraordinary succession of events: Covid, the murder of George Floyd just a few blocks from our home, the homeless encampments during the unrest, and everything that followed.
It was precisely during this period that we became deeply connected to our neighbors and friends. These events brought about a sense of closeness and solidarity that I had never experienced before.

From that position of connection, we also experienced the events of December 2025 through February 2026 at very close range, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out a forceful crackdown in Minneapolis and sought to make the city an example of its immigration enforcement policies.

As an artist and a direct witness, I want to prevent this period of chaos, violence, and resistance from disappearing among the many disturbing headlines of our time. The Task of Being is an attempt to hold on to these experiences and bring them close to an audience: personal stories are interwoven with Kafka’s exploration of bureaucracy and loneliness, and with the question of how to remain human within a system that seeks to separate us from one another.”

Laura Bohn – Mezzo Sopraan
Kevin Walton – Baritone
Ties Mellema – Baritone sax
Wytze de Swart – Alto sax
Thomas Myrmel – Trombone

Bio's
Kevin Walton trained as an actor with The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, then studied singing at The Royal Academy of Music and Opera School, London. He’s a multi-faceted performer and theatre maker with a thirty-year career covering a broad range of disciplines: from classical and contemporary theatre and opera, to award-winning music theatre productions; from medieval and renaissance ensembles, to experimental theater and performance art; it also includes film, TV, session singing and voice overs.

Laura Bohn is a Seattle-born soprano and multi-faceted performer whose career spans opera, music theatre, contemporary performance, and interdisciplinary work in the US and Europe. She has performed leading roles with companies and orchestras including Nederlandse Reisopera, West Edge Opera, Dallas Opera, The Industry, Silbersee Opera, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has appeared at major venues and festivals across Europe and North America. A champion of living composers, she has premiered works by Anne LeBaron, Kamala Sankaram, Erling Wold, Ellen Reid and others. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and California Institute of the Arts, she is based in Amsterdam.

Thomas Myrmel is a composer, performer and multifaceted artist whose work brings together social engagement, craftsmanship and creative expression. He creates music theatre, performance art and autonomous music, presenting his work at festivals and venues across Europe, the Middle East, the USA and Japan. He is a co-founder of The Living Room(s), Music for Music, composer collective Monotak and Splendor.

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