Jupiter: god of gods, wielder of thunderbolts; insatiable, undeniable lover to any and all who caught His divine eye. Once embracing Io as a cloud, Ganymede with eagle’s talons, Leda in the guise of a swan, Europa as a smooth white bull, now the god has vanished. Abandoned by their abductor, the lovers are still trapped in His gravitational pull. In a dreamlike expression of eternity, these discarded conquests ache to make sense of their endless orbit. When Jack, a modern man, crosses the threshold into their strange world, they become part of each other’s past and discover startling truths about the future.
Satellites is inspired by the beauty of ancient stories woven into modern science, by the humanity of the immortal gods, and by the mysteries of the vast space that holds us all.
“It’s Greek Mythology meets Waiting for Godot.”
– Audience reaction to Inkblot Ensemble’s Satellites, June 2011.
Satellites has been orbiting in our imaginations since 2009, when Inkblot Ensemble (then called Antistrophe) was brainstorming projects to be workshopped for the San Francisco Theater Festival. The “moons of Jupiter” idea has stuck with us for two years now, through countless revolutions and gravitational adjustments.
We’re so excited to finally invite an audience into this strange world, where chunks of rock that used to be people spin out eternity, trying desperately to make sense of their memories, which may be composed of nothing more than ancient myths and specks of dust from other people’s lives.
In the process of developing Satellites, we have unlocked a deep fascination with the beauty and wonder and terror of space. It’s truly mind-blowing to contemplate the vastness of the universe and the inconsequence of our little lives. The grand scheme of things.
And yet, one person can be an entire world to another. We can pull each other into dangerous orbits. We can destroy each other with the devastating force of absence. But every day, we find ourselves on a habitable chunk of rock peacefully revolving in a mind-bogglingly improbable circle around a hospitable sun, barely able to comprehend how lucky we are to look up and wonder at the stars.
SATELLITES premiered as a work-in-progress at FURY Factory, the foolsFURY festival of ensemble theater, June 14 & 15, 2011.
created by Inkblot Ensemble
directed by Amy Clare Tasker
dramaturgy by Meg O’Connor
featuring Misti Boettiger, Lance Fuller, Ali Hanson, Justin Liszanckie
and Maria Giere Marquis
produced and stage managed by Annie Paladino
Associate Producer Liz Wand
Lighting Design by Amber M. Couture
