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Third-Year Actors Bring a 3,000-Year-Old Epic to Life By JOSH JACOBSON
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| Costume design by Miranda Hoffman for the character Odysseus in the third-year drama production The Odyssey. |
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"It is not my story … it belongs to anyone who hears it … anything you can imagine, Odysseus has seen and felt … his journey is everlasting … and it changes and grows each time his story is told …"So wrote director Ruben Polendo in his journal several years ago, quoting an elderly Greek storyteller who had just given a riveting recitation of The Odyssey. It was while visiting the coast of the Mediterranean that year—Polendo's second trip to Greece—that inspiration hit for a new retelling of the epic. This semester, Polendo has an opportunity to elaborate on this vision as third-year students (Group 34) from the Drama Division stage The Odyssey in Studio 301.Polendo is no stranger to epic works. He is the founder and artistic director of Theater Mitu, a performing arts troupe that specializes in producing original adaptations of myths drawn from spiritual traditions. Three years ago, he premiered at Juilliard his ambitious adaptation of The Mahabharata, the Indian epic poem that is 100,000 stanzas long (or about 12 times the length of the Western Bible). Previous to that, he had adapted another Indian epic, The Ramayana, which dates back to the fourth century B.C. (Coincidentally, The Ramayana debuted at Bard College in a production that was produced by former Juilliard faculty member JoAnne Akalaitis.) Those familiar with Polendo's previous works may recognize certain themes and approaches in his newest staging."As there is much proof of exchange between ancient India and ancient Greece, I have extrapolated much of Hindu mythology into The Odyssey," Polendo said. "This has been done in an attempt to create and revive what is now a mythology into a living religion; thus bringing this 3,000-year-old Greek epic of gods and heroes to life in a way that is vibrant and electric."Like the Juilliard third-year production of The Trojan Women in October 2002, The Odyssey begins after the fall of Troy in the Trojan War. It is the tale of famed warrior Odysseus (played by Keith Chappelle), a hero whose idea to sneak the Greek army into Troy in the belly of a wooden horse made him a legend. In the ensuing peace, Odysseus—like others who did battle—sets sail for his home island of Ithaca. Menacing obstacles block Odysseus on his journey home, where his kingdom is infested with suitors eager for the hand of his wife Penelope (Mandy Steen). Against great odds, and over the course of 10 years, Odysseus must overcome the will of the gods and reclaim his throne.
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| Costume design by Miranda Hoffman for the character Penelope in the third-year drama production The Odyssey. |
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The Odyssey, originally written by the Greek poet Homer during the Hellenistic period of the eighth century B.C., is not Odysseus' story alone. It is also the journey of Odysseus' son, Telemachus (Nick Mennell), who was only an infant when his father left to fight in the Trojan War. Powerless to stop the suitors from pillaging his home, Telemachus sets out to discover more about the fate of his father and, in the process, matures into manhood.A challenge in any staging of The Odyssey, Polendo concedes, is connecting with a contemporary audience through a story from close to three millennia ago. Though Homer's audience would have understood references to the Trojan War and various Greek gods, an adaptation must address this lack of knowledge and understanding from contemporary audiences."We have developed this piece, both with Theater Mitu and with the actors at Juilliard, by setting theatrical goals that are in fact impossible," Polendo said, "not because we are interested in achieving the goal, but rather because we know great things will come from the journey. And what could be more 'Odysseic' than that?"
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The Odyssey
Studio 301
Wednesday, Oct. 22-Sunday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.
An extremely limited number of ickets will be available to the public on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 5 p.m., in the Juilliard Box Office.
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Polendo implores the Group 34 actors "to embody a language that is both ancient and modern and a style that speaks of a remote world and of our world at the same time." It is also Polendo's intention, as in his work with Theater Mitu, "to create a whole theater experience, one that is emotional, intellectual, visual, aural, and above all, spiritual … ultimately creating an epic world that exists only on that stage; one that imagines a time when gods walked the earth."Ruben Polendo, who holds an M.A. in non-Western theater (Lancaster University, U.K.) and an M.F.A. in directing (U.C.L.A. School of Theater), is also presently a writing/directing fellow and artistic associate at New York Theater Workshop. He has written and directed several works with Theater Mitu. His new play, Dhammashok, was part of the Sundance Theater Lab 2003. Polendo's upcoming production of The Odyssey, a Theater Mitu/Juilliard collaboration, will receive five performances this month in Studio 301. Josh Jacobson is senior officer for research and data management for The Campaign for Juilliard.
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