"Song of the Sirens" Performance Film

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• published: 01 Aug 2011
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About the Show Based on Homer's Odyssey, "Song of the Sirens" was composed and written in August/September 2009 by Scott Fray. Music was performed by Ankataa under the direction of Sandy Blocker. This is the world premier of this production. So what does it sound like? Soaring, layered female vocals with deep, driving drums. World-beat flavors in the music; mysterious, ancient, earthy sounds. What's the Story? The show opens with the goddess Athene (Tita Wofford) singing a song invoking the complex internal forces that motivate Odysseus, whom she favors above all humans. These are represented by the Greek words "kairé" (activate, engage), "metis" (strength of character, resourcefulness"), "kleos" (everlasting fame), and "noos" (the yearning for home). Odysseus (Mack McClain) then recounts his adventures of his "great wanderings". The first of these is "Aeolian Winds", (featuring Madelyn Greco), recalling the story of how he was given a bag containing all the winds of the world, allowing him safe passage to his island home of Ithaca. He was undone by his sailors, however, who let loose the winds, driving him back out to sea. In the next number, we encounters the rugged island home of the Cyclopes, evoked in our production with driving, tribal drums and dance (featuring Ashanti Jennings). Penelope (Amber Marlowe), Odysseus' faithful wife, then emerges to sing a sweet lamentation of tearful longing. She has staved off suitors and contenders to his throne and kept the home fires burning for twenty long years while Odysseus has been away fighting the Trojan war. She has no way of knowing what has befallen him, or even whether he is alive or dead. Meanwhile, Odysseus is tempted by the beautiful goddess Circe (Jenn Martin), who desires to snare him with her enchantments, and the immortal sea nymph Calypso (Karon Click), who promises to make him a god if he should choose to stay with her. Despite his desire to return home to Penelope, Odysseus feels his resolve slipping, yet resists and seeks counsel from the blind prophet Tieresias (Stuart Stanley), summoned from the land of the dead. Tieresias warns him about his upcoming passage past the island of the Sirens, whose song is so enchanting as to drive sailors to their deaths upon hearing it. Odysseus ties himself to the mast of his ship in an attempt to endure their song, and is nearly brought to the point of madness and death. But at the moment of his greatest tribulation and despair, it is Athene's intervention that shines clear through the storm bringing him hope and solace in the sweet remembrance of his long-anticipated homecoming. Chapters 1. Athene's Proemion: Metis 2. Odysseus, a Man of Many Ways 3. Aeolian Winds 4. Into the Eye of the Cyclopes 5. Penelope's Lament 6. Circe and Calypso 7. Lotus Blossum 8. Nequia part one: Ritual to Summon the Dead 9. Nekyia part two: The Blind Prophet's Warning 10. Song of the Sirens 11. A Homecoming of the Heart Cast Mack McClain, "Odysseus" Tita Wofford, "Athene" Jenn Martin, "Circe" Karon Click, "Calypso" Amber Marlowe, "Penelope" Stuart Stanley, "Tieresias" Paden Hale, "Siren" Heather Meek, "Siren" Seraphia Shore, "Siren" written, composed and directed by Scott Fray Video by Scott Burdick