MaryLizBender

Director · Experiential Producer · Sonic Artist

Based in Austin, Texas

I'm a mother, a musician, and a storyteller. I make films, immersive experiences, and performances that explore the wonder in the vast Cosmos without and within.

MaryLiz smiling among sunlit trees, wearing a black top studded with gold

Motherhood

MaryLiz suspended underwater in deep blue light, pregnant, hair rising toward the surface

Becoming a mother brought everything into focus. Matrescence deepened my desire to make work that nurtures presence, awe, and interconnectedness. These are the values I hope to pass on to my daughter, and the greater community I aim to serve.

Coming to Austin, Texas

Mother of Muses

A music community and retreat for mamas. I am so thrilled to soon announce a set of rejuvenating experiences that connect a community of mamas and allow us to explore songwriting processes and new music production skills together in a relaxing natural landscape.

Sonic Artist

On stage with Jim James beneath a field of amber lights

Twin Limb

A lush dream pop musical exploration with dearest friends, Lacey Guthrie and Kevin Ratterman. Twin Limb has toured extensively with such acts as Jim James, Houndmouth, Strand of Oaks, Murder By Death, Basia Bulat, and many more.

  • In the Warm Light, as a Ghost2019
  • Haplo2016
  • Anything Is Possible and Nothing Makes Sense2015

Experiential Producer

MaryLiz holding a prism, scattering rainbow light across the room

I love exploring the big questions, then bringing the macro back to the micro.

All of my work is inspired by the Overview Effect. That profound experience that astronauts have when they go to space, then turn around and look back at the reality of our stunning oasis, floating in the vastness of space and time. I love using every sensory input available to translate an experience from one person to another. All of my productions combine music, storytelling, and audio-visual immersion to bring the Overview Effect down to Earth.

Installations and immersive experiences

A softly glowing room built for rest

Pause

A meditative womb, built as an antidote to modern overwhelm. Light and 360° sound move with a box breath until the body follows.

People lying on the floor beneath a glowing ceiling

Overview

You lie down, and the ceiling opens: a 360° journey from Earth to space and back. Premiered at IMMERSIVE, Palacio de Hierro, Mexico City.

The EarthLight World title drawn across a planetarium dome

EarthLight World

An astronaut's journey with Dr. Sian Proctor, scored with Test Shot Starfish. Showing daily at the Museum of Science, Boston.

Speaker & Teacher

MaryLiz leading a workshop, speaking with her hands in MI.MU music gloves beside her laptop rig

From space-themed philosophy to music technology workshops, I love sharing my passions through speeches and workshops. I have toured the world as a storyteller and speaker, on stages both intimate and grand, from the Middle East to Central America and all throughout North America.

  • Cosmic Perspective Live

    Astronaut interviews, live narration, and gloved music carrying a room to orbit and back. LEAP in Riyadh, then Tulum, Bacalar, AlUla, Biosphere 2, and Texas Eclipse.

  • The Evolution of Music

    From the first human song to the instruments not yet invented. Once projected onto a sandstone cliff in AlUla, beneath the stars.

  • MI.MU glove workshops

    Hands-on gesture and music technology, for first-timers and seasoned producers alike.

For conferences, festivals, universities, schools, retreats, and teams.

Invite me to speak
MaryLiz on the LEAP stage in Riyadh before a vast screen showing Earth
Cosmic Perspective Live on the LEAP stage, Riyadh
On stage with Imogen Heap and fellow glove artists for a MI.MU panel
With Imogen Heap, Joshua Draper, Adam Stark and Kathi Geiger in the dome at Iceland Eclipse

Director

A feature documentary by MaryLiz Bender

FRANK

The story of Frank White, author of The Overview Effect, and the idea he gave the world: that seeing Earth whole can change who we are.

DirectorMaryLiz Bender
Creative ProducerSiona van Dijk

For Frank.

In 1987, Frank White gave a name to what astronauts kept struggling to say: that seeing Earth whole, borderless and luminous against the dark, changes the person who sees it.

He called it the Overview Effect. Frank has spent a lifetime asking what that shift could mean for everyone who will never leave the ground.

He is my friend, my teacher, and the living proof of the idea at the heart of all my work: that a change of view can change a life. FRANK is my attempt to return the gift.

Learn more about Frank ↗

Let's explore together

I would love to hear from you. Please send me an email or connect with me on social media.

marylizbender@gmail.com
Instagram annumusic.com YouTube