“MEARRA” on PBS-WYCC March 7th, 2015 @ 7PM

Kai Harding Entertainment is proud to announce that Emmy^®-winning producer/director Christopher Kai Olsen has partnered with critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Linda Marie Smith to bring her legendary celtic story told through original music and multimedia to television.

The ancient celtic legend of the Selkie is the setting for Mearra-Selkie from the Sea, a musical multimedia extravaganza performed and filmed live at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago, which will make its broadcast premiere on Saturday, March 7^th 2015 at 7:00 p.m. The broadcast marks the first anniversary of Chicago-based singer/songwriter Linda Marie Smith’s hometown release of her CD of the same name. The broadcast gives Chicago audiences another opportunity to be drawn into this unforgettable family friendly presentation based on the story of a mythical seal with the mysterious ability to metamorphose into a human being.

Infusing Linda Marie Smith’s original, richly orchestrated songs with evocative, hand-drawn, animated images (created by the spectacular Catherine and Sarah Satrun), Mearra – Selkie from the Sea presents an enigmatic and bittersweet story of love, loss, and transformation that begins with Mearra, a young Selkie maiden, who falls in love with a lonely fisherman (Ian) who is equally entranced by her supernatural beauty. Mearra bids farewell to her life in the sea, marries Ian, and starts a family. However, seven years later, the sea inexorably calls for Mearra’s return.

With a genre-crossing vocal style that encompasses a folk/rock sensibility, Linda Marie Smith’s music is romantic, soulful, earthy, and mystical, with lyrics and melodies that weave colorful stories of curious places and intriguing people. Linda has been compared to the likes of Christina Perri, Aimee Mann, Lucinda Williams, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, and Sarah McLachlan.

Says Linda Marie Smith, “Creating Mearra – Selkie from the Sea has been one of the most enjoyable and yet one of the most ambitious endeavors in my songwriting career. As a child, fairy tales and folklore captivated me. I loved being transported to other worlds where the impossible was possible. Folklore involves fantastic people or animals and brings our attention to things we value most highly, fear most deeply, and hope for most ardently. My spirit and childlike innocence were rekindled while doing research for Mearra – Selkie from the Sea.”

Chris not only produced and directed the film, but also served as Creative Director for the Mearra – Selkie from the Sea project. Olsen’s innate visual storytelling flows seamlessly alongside Linda Marie Smith’s musicality, breathing additional layers of meaning into the visuals that accompany the concert, and capturing every passionately performed lyric and dramatic orchestration of this haunting musical narrative on film. The result is the breathtaking hour-long performance special Mearra – Selkie from the Sea, which will broadcast multiple times on Chicago’s PBS affiliate WYCC (Channel 20) during the month of March, including:

             -BROADCAST PREMIERE: Saturday, March 7^th at 7pm

            -RE-BROADCAST: Sunday, March 8^th at 8pm

             -RE-BROADCAST: Thursday, March 12^th at 3am

             -RE-BROADCAST: Sunday, March 15^th at 4pm

And make sure to check out new writeup from Chicago Sun Times theater critic Hedy Weiss HERE!