Through stories, songs, and scenes, “This Takes Place Close By” explores the reactions of isolated individuals in the wake of a devastating storm that affects them in drastically different ways. A woman crushed under a building, a bureaucrat from FEMA experiencing victimhood for the first time, a musician channeling his energy into a relief concert, and a shop owner insisting on rebuilding storm after storm….

In short vignettes, the opera captures ordinary people thrown out of their “comfort zone,” while addressing issues such as the voyeurism of storms, the anxiety of privilege, and the emotional distance humans tend to keep between themselves and disasters.

From Sep. 24-27, thingNY took over the 50,000 sq ft renovated factory of the Knockdown Center to create a hypnotizing live sonic landscape of voices, acoustic sounds and electronics surging through the space. The audience moved through five spare scenes to experience the songs and stories of six characters as they grappled with the inevitability of storms and feelings of empathy, guilt, and grief.