Fight or Flight is a one-act, science-fiction opera. Outwardly the story of an astronaut who is marooned on the Moon, this dark comedy is an allegorical tale of forced isolation and loss; and of the anxiety and sadness that inevitably result. Musically, this piece began as an experiment in the reverse-engineering of mostly improvisatory methods of musical spoken-word delivery such as rap or slam poetry; this compositional device being a means to the more important end of creating a live musical theatre lacking the flippant sparkle commonly associated with Broadway and the like, but also free of the \"intellectual\" or \"academic\" heft often perceived to be inherent in common practice period opera.
","abstract_html":"<p>Fight or Flight is a one-act, science-fiction opera. Outwardly the story of an astronaut who is marooned on the Moon, this dark comedy is an allegorical tale of forced isolation and loss; and of the anxiety and sadness that inevitably result. Musically, this piece began as an experiment in the reverse-engineering of mostly improvisatory methods of musical spoken-word delivery such as rap or slam poetry; this compositional device being a means to the more important end of creating a live musical theatre lacking the flippant sparkle commonly associated with Broadway and the like, but also free of the "intellectual" or "academic" heft often perceived to be inherent in common practice period opera.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Griffith, Asher"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music (MM)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sloan, Gerald","Greeson, James"],"advisors":["Mueller, Robert K."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:14Z","subjects":["Communication and the arts","Fight or Flight","Asher Griffith","Matt Miguez","Opera","Original composition","Science fiction","Acting","Composition","Music Performance","Other Music"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/787","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sloan, Gerald","Greeson, James"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Mueller, Robert K."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Griffith, Asher"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music (MM)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication and the arts","Fight or Flight","Asher Griffith","Matt Miguez","Opera","Original composition","Science fiction","Acting","Composition","Music Performance","Other Music"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/787"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Fight or Flight is a one-act, science-fiction opera. Outwardly the story of an astronaut who is marooned on the Moon, this dark comedy is an allegorical tale of forced isolation and loss; and of the anxiety and sadness that inevitably result. Musically, this piece began as an experiment in the reverse-engineering of mostly improvisatory methods of musical spoken-word delivery such as rap or slam poetry; this compositional device being a means to the more important end of creating a live musical theatre lacking the flippant sparkle commonly associated with Broadway and the like, but also free of the \"intellectual\" or \"academic\" heft often perceived to be inherent in common practice period opera.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Fight or Flight"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sloan, Gerald","Greeson, James"],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Mueller, Robert K."],"dc:creator":["Griffith, Asher"],"dc:date":["2013"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Fight or Flight is a one-act, science-fiction opera. Outwardly the story of an astronaut who is marooned on the Moon, this dark comedy is an allegorical tale of forced isolation and loss; and of the anxiety and sadness that inevitably result. Musically, this piece began as an experiment in the reverse-engineering of mostly improvisatory methods of musical spoken-word delivery such as rap or slam poetry; this compositional device being a means to the more important end of creating a live musical theatre lacking the flippant sparkle commonly associated with Broadway and the like, but also free of the \"intellectual\" or \"academic\" heft often perceived to be inherent in common practice period opera.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/787"],"dc:subject":["Communication and the arts","Fight or Flight","Asher Griffith","Matt Miguez","Opera","Original composition","Science fiction","Acting","Composition","Music Performance","Other Music"],"dc:title":["Fight or Flight"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Music (MM)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:14Z"}