CRONE is a narrative film and immersive theatrical production that follows the path of a young woman who loses everything and is faced with a choice between forgiveness and revenge. 

Set in a fantasy world filled with archetypal characters who use dance and music as instruments of magic, CRONE sits at the juncture of two cultures: one which exists in harmony with nature, and one which revels in exploitation, conformity, and colonization. A young woman witnesses her mother’s murder by the latter, but when seeking justice, she faces a choice: will she become the oppressive force she sought to destroy?

CRONE is a riveting narrative designed to cultivate empathy, unraveling the tale of an apparent antagonist by delving into her endured trauma that steered her toward vengeance. CRONE chronicles a profound journey of healing, ultimately leading to liberation from the devastating effects of intergenerational trauma.

THE CRONE PERFORMANCE SERIES

In the summer of 2025, Red Nightfall launched an ongoing interdisciplinary performance series that builds the world of CRONE in public: new choreography, live music, short films, and fashion interpretations of the production's archetypal characters, shared with audiences as the work is made.

Installments to date: Rituals of Light (July 2025), Fractured Dawn (November 2025), and Unbecoming (March 2026), all at East Side Performing Arts in Austin.

Next: Maiden Mother Crone, November 5–8, 2026.

Ahead: The Original Sound in 2027, and in 2028, our first immersive staging of the CRONE world: a multi-room production that builds toward the full-scale immersive CRONE still to come.

CRONE has been in development since 2016. The inaugural event was a concert of Samuel Lipman’s original score for 25 piece orchestra at Bates Recital Hall at UT Austin in March of 2017. A dance/theatre production of CRONE premiered at the B. Iden Payne Theatre in November 2017. A proof-of-concept trailer was shot in November of 2020, Director of Photography - Caleb Kuntz.

CRONE is a creation of Red Nightfall Founder/Director, Dorothy O’Shea Overbey

MAIDEN MOTHER CRONE NOVEMBER 5–8, 2026

EAST SIDE PERFORMING ARTS

The next installment of the CRONE performance series turns to the Crone herself — not as a single character, but as an archetype: a pattern, a mantle, a power that waits to be inhabited. Through a series of initiatory trials, we follow her passage from Maiden to Mother to Crone, and the moment she comes into her full form.

An evening of dance, live chamber music, projection, and installation.

Tickets and details coming soon. Sign up below for news and updates!

CRONE performance photos by Lawrence Peart, courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin

CRONE costume renderings by Aaron Kubacak

BTS photos of trailer production by Juliet Robb

Dancers/Actors: Jerreme Rodriquez, O’Shea Gifford, Jordyn Marsh, Toni Neal, Rachel Meador, Ciceley Fullylove, Becky Nam, Atticus Griffin, Kim Baraka, Navaji, Izzy Rapier

CRONE Performance Archive

dance/theatre Workshop performance - Fall 2017

University of texas at Austin | Dance Repertory Theatre

B. Iden Payne Theatre. November 7-12, 2017

A workshop performance of the theatrical production of CRONE premiered at UT Austin’s B. Iden Payne Theatre in November of 2017, accompanied by a 25-piece orchestra, conducted by CRONE composer, Samuel Lipman.

CRONE is a creation of Red Nightfall Founder, Dorothy O’Shea Overbey.

Choreography by Dorothy O’Shea Overbey, original score by Sam Lipman, lighting design by Aaron curry, projections by Jesse Easdon

 Austin Chronicle - Robert Faires' Top 10 Dance and Classical Treasures of 2017   

"Dorothy O'Shea Overbey's 'Crone' paid lush tribute to narrative ballets of yore in a mythic tale inspired by The Rite of Spring [...] with its luxe orchestral score by composer-in-residence Samuel Lipman, colorful and flowing costumes by Aaron Kubacak, and graceful movements, this work had its eye on the present as much as the past[.]"

-Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle