As a multi-generational native of rural South Carolina, I grew up immersed in the natural and cultural history of my beloved home state and have found the two to be virtually inseparable. Some of my earliest memories are of my father, a gifted and passionate naturalist, conservationist and educator, holding my siblings and me rapt with tales of the great southern outdoors and the strange, ghostly history of family and our culture.

The opera, No Clocks, No Calendars, is part sex farce, part love story, and part supernatural chiller, set on a sea island off the coast of South Carolina, where a liberated, enlightened hippie enclave interacts warmly with the

local culture, dominated by the Afro-Caribbean descendants of slaves.

The story centers on a handful of townies from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, the peak of the tourist

season. It follows their loves, heartbreaks and personal struggles and ultimately, tragedy. It celebrates heritage and diversity, champions a strong attitude in favor of sexual liberties and explores the dark consequences when basic human rights are withheld.

As for the characters themselves, the Sand Man is based on a composite of the Hag and the Plat-eye, two of Gullah folklore's most evil spirits. The character of Dr. Love is loosely based on notorious real-life root doctors and conjurers such as Dr. Buzzard, a fixture in the 20th century Gullah community. The remaining characters are simply young people on the very top of their lives, wanting what the young want: love, acceptance and fun.

I have poured my passions into the nuances and details of Gullah traditions as well as the high-octane exploits of the late 60s/early 70s hippie underground amid the marshes, beaches, pine savannas and mosquitoes of the Low Country to form a complex stew of delightfully mingled flavors and overlapping ingredients. It was in this that I found the enduring truths of human dignity, respect for heritage and an abiding sense of place that built

No Clocks, No Calendars.
Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,
Jeff Holmes