We were lucky to catch up with Chris Till recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chris thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Four years ago, we went on a family hike through a bog in central Ohio: my wife, our two little kids, and I. I love walking on boardwalks through wetlands! It was a hot summer afternoon. We came to a tiny spring where we could see a tiny stream of water burbling into the shallow marsh. I bent down to listen to its miniature sound. I got my ear right down next to it and listened. I heard a little melody that turned into “Yellow Night,” the first song from what became our three-part fairy tale opera, “Twin Spheres.”

Over a three-night span in the following week, I had three nocturnal dreams about a giant rabbit person experiencing either psychosis or illumination. Everywhere this bunny hopped, he saw faeries, gnomes, and mermaids: under bridges, in alleys, and in the bushes. For this bunny, the make-believe world of fairy tales became real.

That trip to the bog and those dreams became the tiny seeds that grew into “Twin Spheres,” Toadstool Shadow’s epic three-part fairy tale opera.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m the artistic director of Toadstool Shadow, a music & arts collective. We’re working on the ending of “Twin Spheres,” an original three-part fairy tale opera about a visionary rabbit.

We performed part one, “Rainbow Nights,” live twice and released an album of 12 original songs. In it, Bunny is just a boy. Part two, “Folk Songs of the American Wood Elf,” became 12 music videos, a 40-minute movie that played in five Ohio cities, and a soundtrack album of 12 original songs. In it, Bunny is 19 and believes he’s gone insane.

Part three, “Journey to Glass Mountain,” is nearing completion. In it, Bunny is a man and finally becomes himself. He accepts the burdens and rewards of adulthood. Besides being an album with 12 original songs, it will likely be a novella.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

On one level, the goal is to just create art as best as we can. Original music. Original videos. Original photography. Original writing. But it is all focused on telling a story of a lost bunny finding firm ground.

On another level, a higher goal is to create a roadmap into adulthood for people who had crazy childhoods. Maybe someone who tripped their balls off as a youngster, but yearns for stability. Or someone who was just utterly lost as a kid, seduced by drugs or s*x or rock and roll, or all three, and struggles to find solid ground as an adult.

Just like an ant is driven subconsciously to create a colony and toil to serve his queen, I’m driven to create this work. I’ve heard melodies and made up words to them since I was a teenager. I’ve no idea where they come from, but I’m called to share them with the world. For me, Toadstool Shadow is a chance to share my songs.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Everyone’s trying to making sense of the world. I certainly am. Some make sense of the world through religion or science or having passionate opinions about culture and politics.

I have not made sense of the world one tiny bit. I just wake up every day and hustle. That said, it’s a wonderful hustle: raising two angelic children with my dreamy wife.

Toadstool Shadow provides a story that helps me explain what I’ve experienced. I was a long-haired hippie, lost in America, a child of immigrants. As a teenager, my hometown was flooded with LSD. It’s been a struggle translating a childhood filled with wonder, surreality, and pain into a productive manhood. “Twin Spheres” is me sharing my road. It’s a road that twisted, but ended at a pot of gold: marriage and fatherhood.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.toadstoolshadow.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toadstoolshadow/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toadstoolshadow
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ToadstoolShadow
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/toadstoolshadow

Image Credits
Photos of Chris Till by Whitney Till. All others by Chris Till.