For the 2012 San Francisco Olympians Festival, I wrote a one-act play Phoebe & Theia, and directed Hera by Barbara Jwanouskos.
“As in the days of Greek mythology, the gods war with the Titans again – only this time, we lowly humans can decide the winners at the San Francisco Olympians Festival: Titans vs. Olympians, a 12-night series of play readings that continues for the next two weeks at San Francisco’s Exit Theatre… The 25 one-act plays range from literal versions of myths to what Bousel calls “really far-out ideas,” and they come from first-time writers as well as more established playwrights like Amy Clare Tasker and Marissa Skudlarek. A few, like Colin Johnson’s film noir “Hephaestus or Heffy,” will set the canonical story of a deity in a different time or place, while others, like Megan Cohen’s feminist take on Zeus, offer a modern view on ancient themes.” Read More…
– Mary Ellen Hunt for The San Francisco Chronicle, December 2012.
Phoebe & Theia: How to Get to Tartarus
by Amy Clare Tasker
directed by Annie Paladino
performed by Siobhan Doherty and Marilet Martinez
A lyrical text for two aerial performers, telling the story of Phoebe and Theia, the Titan goddesses of the sun and the moon.
Before the reign of the Olympians, the Titans were test-driving the universe. From a matriarchy begun out of Chaos by Eurynome, the Goddess of All Things, the Titan women were soon forgotten after the rise of Zeus as king of the gods.
Phoebe & Thiea: How to Get to Tartarus imagines a new mythology in which the goddesses fall nine days to Earth and nine more days to Tartarus to spend eternity together with the secret truths about their loyalties and betrayals in the War of the Titans.
Hera: The Pregnant Man Play
by Barbara Jwanouskos
performed by Claire Slattery, Nick Trengove, Ben Grubb, Eric Hannan, Arie Levine, and Brian Martin
After centuries of dealing with Zeus’ infidelities, Hera has finally had enough. She quits Mount Olympus to “teach Zeus a lesson” by showing him just how it feels to have a mortal impregnated by your spouse. Jwanouskos’ play looks at what family and marriage mean, especially in a modern context, and how that structure can be transformed or evolved.
“Hilariously directed by Amy Clare Tasker, Hera drew a lot of hysterical screaming from Nick Trengove’s Terry. In addition to reading stage directions, Brian Martin (wearing a sock puppet on one hand) scored strongly as the jealous, growling Zeus.” Read More…
– George Heymont for Huffington Post (from My Cultural Landscape), December 2012.