Trailer for The Book of Stars: Magic Lantern Theatre Show is a full-length performance combining music, story and analog projector technology to tell the tale of the ancient Light Queen. 

Performance, music, story and illustrations by Georgia Beatty (cello, voice, storytelling). 

Released 14 June 2025.

"THE BOOK OF STARS is the story of the Light Queen, written and performed by musician and folk artist Georgia Beatty. The show combines original music with the analogue projector technology known as a “magic lantern” to tell the tale of the cosmic queen who is reborn every 3,000 years to learn the Songs of Light, and use them to heal Earth from oppressive powers. 

Exploring resonance as both a musical and ancestral concept, visuals, song and story intertwine in a spellbinding dream inviting us to become living archives, capable of healing a broken world."

A view of Georgia's performance during the final show of her project release tour. The tour spanned from Baltimore, MD to Portland, ME in June 2025. This was taken at Black Cherry Puppet Theatre, June 14, 2026. 

Here Georgia performs The Book of Stars at Current Space, Baltimore, MD as part of her event Solstice Celebration in June 2024. Georgia first premiered The Book of Stars as a 30 minute show with magic lantern, an abbreviated story and fewer songs.

Photo by Laura Ferrara. 

June 2024. 

The first single from The Book of Stars: Collection of the Heir. Each song on this album correlates to a chapter in the folktale The Book of Stars: Stories of the Light Queen, and is performed with a live telling of the chapter in the magic lantern theatre show. 

Georgia Beatty on cello and voice. 

Released June 2025.

About the album:

The second single from The Book of Stars: Collection of the Heir. Each song on this album correlates to a chapter in the folktale The Book of Stars: Stories of the Light Queen, and is performed with a live telling of the chapter in the magic lantern theatre show. . 

Georgia Beatty on cello and voice. 

Released June 2025

About the album:

A still of the magic lantern art in the live show of The Book of Stars. This image correlates with the part of the folktale that accompanies the song "Dirt-Time", when we find the Light Queen meeting the Earth Queen underground to receive her instructions for how to heal the Earth. 

A still of the magic lantern art in the live show of The Book of Stars. This image correlates with the part of the folktale that accompanies the song "Sing To Me", when we find out exactly how the Light Queen uses her music to turn the Earth into pure light. 

A still of the magic lantern art in the live show of The Book of Stars. This image correlates with the part of the folktale that accompanies the song "Queen's Cradle", when the Light Queen is still in her star-shelled egg, at home in the sky.

The first story chapter and illustration of The Book of Stars: Stories of the Light Queen. 

Story by Georgia Beaty. Illustration by Rachel Wojnar. Rachel and Georgia worked together closely to decide what the illustrations would depict. To create continuity across the folktale book and magic lantern show, Georgia made parallel illustrations for the magic lantern. This is the text that Georgia reads aloud during the magic lantern show. 

The Book of Stars: Stories of the Light Queen as written by Georgia Beatty and illustrated by Rachel Wojnar. 

This is the text Georgia reads aloud during the magic lantern performance.

A moment during the album release show for Apprentice to Transformation at the Troy Listening Room in Troy, NY. This venue also serves as a recording studio, and it is where Georgia recorded the album with audio engineer Sam Torres. 

This tune is traditional to Dalarna, Sweden and was taught to me by fiddler and singer Andrea Larson (based in Richmond, VA).  We sang it together for this recording, though the harmony part (sung by Georgia) was composed and is not traditional.

 The tune name means "Horn Tune As Sung By Kerstin Ivares". A horn tune is a melody that would have originally been played on a flute made out of a cow's horn. 

Original harmony and performance by Georgia Beatty. Traditional melody and performance by Andrea Larson.

Released October 2022.

"Apprentice to Transformation" written and performed by Georgia Beatty (fiddle) at An Die Musik in Baltimore, MD on 20 December 2022 as part of Baltimore-based BOISTER's annual Winter Solstice Concert. 

This is the title track of her first full-length album of original and traditional fiddle tunes, released 22 October 2022. 

"As Prayer", the single from the album Apprentice to Transformation released October 2022 by Georgia Beatty. 

Music, dance performance and video by Georgia Beatty (fiddle, voice, electric guitar).

The image is cut paper and ink in water made by Philadelphia-based shadow puppet artist Maisie O'Brien. The text is india ink handwritten by Georgia Beatty. This album art was made as commission for Georgia Beatty's album Apprentice to Transformation. 

Released October 2022.

A crankie performance illustrated, written and performed by Georgia Beatty (hardanger fiddle, storytelling).

Released May 2019.

 "In the southern region of Norway called Telemark, a young hardingfele player is born the fateful day her mother, a beautiful and wise player herself, hands her daughter one of these magical instruments and begins the young girl on her journey into understanding the mysterious and captivating 300-year-old tradition..."

The Hardingfele and the Mystical Process of Tune Transmission is a fictional story based on Georgia's real experience learning Norwegian music from her teacher, master fiddler Loretta Kelley, who is based in Takoma Park, MD.  Georgia has taken lessons with Loretta Kelley since 2019.

This photo was taken by the Maryland State Arts Council under the Folklife Apprenticeship Grant awarded to Georgia and her teacher Loretta Kelley in 2025. 

India ink on paper. 

May 2019. 

Here the story's main characters (A mother and daughter) have their first fiddle lesson in their kitchen to learn the Norwegian tradition of hardanger fiddle.

The Hardingfele and the Mystical Process of Tune Transmission is a fictional story based on Georgia's real experience learning Norwegian music from her teacher, master fiddler Loretta Kelley, who is based in Takoma Park, MD.  Georgia has taken lessons with Loretta Kelley since 2019. 

Here she is pictured with her fiddle made by Olav Venås in 1948 in Norway. 

This photo was taken by the Maryland State Arts Council under the Folklife Apprenticeship Grant awarded to Georgia and her teacher Loretta Kelley in 2025. 

India ink on paper. 

May 2019. 

Here the story's main character (the daughter) first receives her own Norwegian hardanger fiddle. 

The Hardingfele and the Mystical Process of Tune Transmission is a fictional story based on Georgia's real experience learning Norwegian music and playing for dances. 

Here Georgia is playing hardanger fiddle for the Mid-Atlantic Norwegian Dancers who are performing dances that traditionally accompany the fiddle music. 

This photo was taken by the Maryland State Arts Council under the Folklife Apprenticeship Grant awarded to Georgia and her teacher Loretta Kelley in 2025. 

India ink on paper. 

May 2019. 

Here the story's character (the grandmother) playing for dancers. 

A view of Katherine Fahey (left) with Georgia Beatty (right) performing "Cat Island" for The Baltimore Banner (center) in Katherine Fahey's studio in Baltimore, MD. 

September 2024.

Georgia composed and performs her original music for the crankie by Katherine Fahey. This is the "soundtrack" that audience members will hear played live underneath Katherine's voice as she tells the story of the black cat farm on Poplar Island, Eastern Shore, Maryland. 

Music by Georgia Beatty (fiddle).

First performed May 2024.

Katherine Fahey (left) shows off her crankie depicting the black cats of Poplar Island, Eastern Shore, MD. Georgia Beatty (right) holds her fiddle which serves as the instrument used in her original composition for "Cat Island". The artists are in Katherine Fahey's Baltimore studio.

April 2024.

Live performance of "Gauken", a traditional Norwegian fiddle tune. Recorded at the Apprentice to Transformation album release show in Troy, NY. 

Music, magic lantern animation and drawing by Georgia Beatty (fiddle).

22 October, 2022. 

Georgia first learned this tune from the esteemed Norwegian fiddler Mari Eggen when she came to teach in the US in 2019. "Gauken" translates to "The Cuckoo". A bird call can be heard as the fiddle plays two harmonic notes whenever a white bird appears in the video.

The fiddler is animated by two painted sheets of acetate which move independently. 

A photo of esteemed Norwegian fiddler Mari Eggen (left) teaching in New Hampshire in 2019. Georgia Beatty (right) learned "Gauken" from Mari Eggen.

Paint on acetate.January 2026.

Here you can see the very small illustration that gets projected through the magic lantern. This "fiddler" is drawn on two sheets of acetate that move independently. Their arm and fiddle bow one one sheet, their body and fiddle on another. This allows the visual effect of their arm moving a bow up and down the fiddle's strings as you hear Georgia's fiddle play.

Wooden box, metal tube holding a glass lens, black paint.

Made December 2023.

A side view of Georgia Beatty's hand-constructed magic lantern (an analogue style projector invented in the 1500's).