"Hey, let's have a show in the barn!"

Looked easy when Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney turned their raw talent and indefatigable enthusiasm into a Broadway-quality variety show. "We'll build a stage and some scenery, and off we go!" Of course, that was Hollywood in the 1940s.

With apologies to Shakespeare, even he probably scurried like a madman, raising funds to mount his next production, before the Burbage family offered use of the Globe Theater. It's always been the theatrical dilemma -- "where and how do we mount this production ... and keep it going?"

In the last third of the 20th Century, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, Godspell and other lesser-known rock operas found their way from creative inspiration and vision into full-blown theatrical productions, at least a couple becoming historic cultural icons. That time may have come again!

Jeff Stewart Dixon's 26 cast member rock opera MAGIC MUSIC MYTH was successfully presented in 1999 in Arlington, Virginia's, Thomas Jefferson Theater. And now, a new multi-media version titled Alchemy's Magic Music Myth & Intergalactic SPACE Superheroes is coming to the Writer's Center in Bethesda, on October 27^th / 8pm. An epic story-line, stunning set and state-of-the art special effects, slide projection, a stirring original pop art-rock score and an exciting performance by the band ALCHEMY are all in the works for this October's show. Washington, D.C., arts critic Bob Anthony wrote, "Alchemy's Magic Music Myth is a highly theatrical and spectacular event and more stimulating than 'Rent'. "

Dixon, who wrote and produced the production was gratified by the response. After all, it had taken 9 months, 50 people and over $100,000 plus a grant from the Fairfax County (Virginia) Arts Council to bring his vision to the public. And that was no small task. Dixon, who had never even been in a high school play, simply said and did what all creative innovators have always said and done -- "I've got to do this! And I will!" It's the kind of self-challenge that either dampens your enthusiasm, or lifts you to the thought that virtually anything is possible. In Dixon's case, the process was this latter triumph of the human spirit.

In one sense, Dixon couldn't help himself. Growing up in a household of musicians he was it seems destined to create an epic musical production exploring the themes of good and evil. Or well ok, at least destined to write songs. His father, a guitarist since high school, is a guitar builder and songwriter.

A relatively late starter, however, Jeff's first instrument was a guitar which belonged to his college roommate at Syracuse University. Instantly bitten by the bug, he majored in music production and audio engineering, and minored in music. His first inclination with the guitar was to compose his own material, not interpret others'. "I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write BIG music," he recalls. His primary musical influences were Pink Floyd, Genesis, U2, Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac ... all big, dramatic-sounding bands.

"Wood-shedding" after college graduation, Dixon spent six years developing and perfecting the sound he wanted. By 1996, he'd collected "a good six-song demo that felt like my unique direction." One of those songs, "Devil Music," was the first time the good and evil theme emerged in his material. Interested in spirituality since age 18, "Devil Music" inspired Dixon's idea to create a concept CD and show about good and evil…one half the songs written from the point of view of the world's major religions and the other half written from the point of view of the devil. And now in 2002 at the Bethesda Writer's Center add to that a band of Intergalactic S.P.A.C.E. Superheroes (Alchemy's 2^nd CD where they do battle with the evil Dr.Gloom to save the earth) and you have one hell of an intergalactic rock operatic showdown!!…or well ok, at least a really cool and very original production.

"I sat on that song for a year," he recollects, "but it haunted me. I knew there was something special in the concept, something extraordinary that I wanted to do with it." Eventually, he fleshed out a script synopsis and took it, along with his songs, to the Fairfax County Arts Council in the fall of 1998. In a providential meeting, the Council offered Dixon a grant consisting of six weeks of free theater space in its 700-seat Thomas Jefferson Theater.

"Needless to say, I was thrilled," he recalls, "but also instantly stunned. Now I had a theater, a script outline and six songs. It was a Catch 22. I knew it was going to take a lot more than that to produce a full-scale rock opera!"

Dixon immediately got to work. Serious work. Writing the rest of the songs. Completing a script. Designing a set, costumes, lighting. "You can't believe how much is involved in mounting a theatrical production!" he exhorts, looking back.

The level of work and commitment was overwhelming. By February, 1999, the intensity of the project -- essentially a millennial jury trial of God versus the devil -- forced him to confront his own inner demons, all precipitated by the exigencies of this challenge. "I was feeling this huge anxiety knot of fear and apprehension in my stomach, and really, it had been there for years. The show just brought it out further." he reveals. "And so because I had to…I confronted it and I confronted the show. It went away…permanently."

"That's what MAGIC MUSIC MYTH is all about," he reflects. "Most everyone is running from the "devil" inside themselves instead of confronting "him" and putting "him" in his place. That's what I had to do in mounting the show, and that's what the show enables the audience to do."

The next "devil" Jeff had to confront was the issue of money, financing. After all, only the theater would be free!

Jeff raised enough to present an informal preview of the first half of the play in late May, 1999. Only Act One of the two-act show was performed, after just two weeks' rehearsal. Sets and costumes were incomplete. But Jeff's rock band, Alchemy, was in top musical form.

Theater reviewer Terri Corcoran wrote, "... the tremendous talent of the cast and the penetrating musical numbers, along with the mysterious, mystical plot, revealed that this could be the start of something very big."

The fruit of this initial success was ... more hard work! To finish and fully mount the production, with final sets, costumes and special effects paraphernalia, would take more than $100,000. Jeff raised the needed funds from friends and family and a few local business investors on the basis of the preview's excellent reviews. The 40-foot long set, in 30 sections, was completed in Dixon's father's shop. Jeff finished staffing and casting, including actors, artists and other "creative types." "There was always more to do," he recalls. "At one point, the only time I had to write checks was three in the morning." Then, in July, 1999, MAGIC MUSIC MYTH had 26 performances before enthusiastic audiences.

For Dixon, the production process was an ordeal ... and "the most significant real-life learning experience I've ever had!" What did he learn? How is he applying it? Where to from here for MAGIC MUSIC MYTH?

I've learned that I am a producer, a musician, a composer, a lead vocalist and a set designer! I've learned that I can do it all ... and that virtually anything is possible. I don't think there's any way to overestimate the value of that knowledge in anyone's experience. It's enormously empowering ... and I offer it to other young people to inspire them to create big ... and just do it!"

On a practical level, Dixon discovered what one needs in order to successfully mount and complete a project the size and complexity of MAGIC MUSIC MYTH. Here's his list --

1. Passion. "You need to totally believe in it and want to do it! And you have to be able to make it interesting and valuable to other people."

2. Confidence. "You have to find out that you can do all the jobs yourself ... if you have to."

3. Creativity (Artistic Vision). "There was a lot more than a few good songs to write. You have to have a vision for everything, all the details."

4. Self-Discipline. "There's a million artists out there ... who can't get the job done, can't make anything real. My father modeled discipline and hard work for me. And the private high school I attended made it clear: 'You're the man!' they taught. 'Get the job done!'"

5. Communication Skills. "You've got to be able to hear and understand, but also to persuade and cajole. We had teenagers in the production ... and people in their 70s! Everyone needed to be heard ... and inspired."

What's next for Alchemy's MAGIC MUSIC MYTH?

The MAGIC MUSIC MYTH compact disc featuring musical highlights from the production is on sale through all the online music-sellers, including Borders and Barnes and Noble and is available at Alchemy's web-site: magicmusicmyth.com.

"After the shows in October Alchemy plans to continue to showcase locally and hopefully soon nationally," Dixon says. And, of course, given the requisite investment funds, Dixon is prepared to mount a full-scale production of MAGIC MUSIC MYTH & Intergalactic SPACE Superheroes for the stage, cable or video.

"It's definitely a show for our time," he says. "It's an understatement to say that good and evil are in the headlines currently. I've just put a lighter and hopefully healthier spin on it. Spectacle, color, drama, conflict, and good old rock 'n roll. "What more could a 21st Century earthling want?"

Dixon does seem to have all the bases covered. And while he's putting together a tour schedule and trying to find investors, he rents a 100-acre farm in Clarksburg, where he operates a recording studio. He also works part-time as a freelance audio-video engineer.

It's the age-old artist's conundrum: tending to both the artistic endeavor and the commercial realities, including funding one's survival. Why the drive to do it? Dixon's response echoes through the millennia: "Why, for love of the art, of course, and the intense desire to inspire others, to deliver a message."

Of course. Why else.