THE ACTING COMPANY: ODYSSEY

THE ACTING COMPANY: ODYSSEY

OCT 28-29 | Pasant Theatre

Program

The Acting Company

  1. Kent Gash, Artistic Director
  2. Erik Schroeder, Managing Director
  3. Devin Brain, Producing Director
  4. Margot Harley, Founder

Presents

ODYSSEY

Written and Directed by Lisa Peterson
Based on Homer’s The Odyssey Translated by Emily Wilson

CAST
(in alphabetical order)

  • Anoud
    Layla Khoshnoudi
  • Zee
    Zamo Mlengana
  • Understudy
    Abiola Obatolu
  • Hana
    Anya Whelan-Smith
  • Béa
    Sophie Zmorrod

 

CREATIVE TEAM

  • Scenic Design
    Tanya Orellana
  • Costume Design
    Sarita Fellows
  • Lighting Design
    Russell H. Champa
  • Sound Design
    Sinan Refik Zafar
  • Original Songs
    Masi Asare
  • Voice and Speech Coach
    Xavier Clark
  • Dramaturg
    Jesse Cameron Alick
  • Associate Director, Staff Director
    Margaret Lee
  • Text and Script Consultant
    Janice Paran
  • Casting
    Laura Schutzel, CSA
  • Production Stage Manager
    Stephanie Weinzapfel

Media Partner: Michigan Radio

Run time is approximately 95 minutes with no intermission.

FROM THE ACTING COMPANY’S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

On behalf of The Acting Company, I want to welcome you to Lisa Peterson’s adaptation of Odyssey. The Acting Company has a deep commitment to timeless storytelling that illuminates the human condition. Since becoming Artistic Director in 2021, we have been reaffirming our commitment to this mission with a bilingual English-Spanish language production of Romeo and Juliet directed by Leah C. Gardiner and a newly commissioned adaptation of The Three Musketeers by Kirsten Childs that celebrated Alexander Dumas’ Blackness.

Our company’s deep commitment to celebrating the most exciting and dynamic artists currently working in our country is fully manifest in our commissioning Lisa Peterson to create a new, all-female adaptation of Homer’s epic poem. Lisa is a world-class playwright and director, and her adaptation centers on the storytelling impulse and the role it plays in human survival. As we all emerge from the shadows and struggles of the pandemic only to find ourselves in these increasingly turbulent times, there is an urgent need for the connection that storytelling can provide. In a darkened theater, a shared experience has the power to change us as it reminds us of our common humanity.

Lisa Peterson’s unique and surprising adaptation and her brilliant direction of our company of Middle Eastern, North African and Eastern European actors is an ode to our collective need for home, forgiveness, and grace. It is vital and essential storytelling born out of a special collaborative impulse.

So, on behalf of The Acting Company, we welcome you to Odyssey! May it help show you the way home.

Kent Gash
Artistic Director
The Acting Company

NOTES FROM THE ADAPTOR/DIRECTOR

There is an important debate happening these days about “the classics”, especially those giant epics that have been taught as the pillars of “Western Literature” for centuries. Homer’s italic text and The Odyssey are smack dab in the middle of that argument. Should we keep these two ancient epics on a pedestal, and why—or why not? Whose story are they telling, and should it be told to the exclusion of other stories that have been kept silent? As I ask these questions of myself, I do find the essential humanity coursing through these Greek stories to be bottomless and compelling. And although I cannot help but find myself in awe of the power of The Iliad, I have to confess I never thought that I’d find my way to wanting to make an adaptation of The Odyssey. So many others have done it, and brilliantly; I didn’t think I could find my personal way into this classic hero’s journey, the story of Odysseus trying to get home. And then I read Emily Wilson’s incredible new translation, back in 2018 when it first came out. It was as if the wax had been pulled from my ears.

Emily’s translation keeps opening windows to many of the less famous but more complicated elements of The Odyssey: the focus on the Greek idea of xenia, or hospitality. In her hands, the story keeps touching down on the different ways that humans deal with guests and strangers, especially those that find themselves on the shores of a new land and need help. Over and over, Odysseus sets sail, is blown off course by a storm (usually caused by a malicious god), and has to start over on a new island, in an unfamiliar culture. That process in the story--this desperate journey to land somewhere safe--started me thinking about the contemporary odysseys taking place across the Mediterranean Sea in our times. In the EU, they call it a “migrant crisis” and it seems to be a crisis for sure. When I first became aware of this dangerous passage that lands all sorts of people on various small Greek islands and into a kind of limbo, it was 2016 and tens of thousands of Syrian refugees were trying to escape civil war in their country. Over the last seven years that conflict still rages, and now migrants from all over the surrounding continents, from the south, the east, the west and the north, are braving the dangerous seas to make not just a better life, but a safe one.

I’ve now become attuned to the gorgeous heartbreak in the poetry of The Odyssey. This earth is beautiful, full of creatures and lands that take our breath away. Nature can wrap us up, but it can also tear us apart. The stars above are sharp and lovely. We are all voyagers, but some are lucky, and some are not. The ancient storytellers remind us, and then repeat it: we must be good to one another. One day you are the host, then next you are the traveler. Take care.

Lisa Peterson
Adaptor/Director of Odyssey

Who's Who in the Cast

THE ACTING COMPANY

Follow The Acting Company

Download the program PDF
HAIRSPRAY

HAIRSPRAY

NOV 28-DEC 3

Buy Tickets

Policies and Services

Personal Responsibility Statement
Wharton Center offers a diverse selection of arts entertainment. Not all productions may appeal to or be appropriate for every person or for all ages. Patrons are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the shows we offer in order to make informed decisions prior to purchasing tickets.

In case of an emergency
Please observe the lighted exit signs located throughout the building and theatre(s). All patrons should note all exits, especially those closest to your seat location. Our staff and ushers are trained to assist patrons through multiple emergency situations.

First Aid
See your usher or House Management Room 209 (in Grand Foyer).

Supporters and Staff

Wharton Center gratefully recognizes our Circle Members for their philanthropic contribution, our Legacy donors who have chosen to support with their estate plans, individuals and organizations that have established named endowments to support Wharton Center, and our corporate sponsors.

Wharton Center would like to acknowledge the members of IATSE local 274.