Apollo was, like, super popular. The great horseman, the benefactor of mankind, and the light of the sun, he was the only Roman god to retain the same name as his Greek counterpart because, as Cicero used to say, “Don’t mess with success.” Apollo was portrayed throughout Greek and Roman art and was also a favorite subject throughout the Renaissance. He was revered in temples throughout Rome, had multiple festivals established in his honor, and remains a favorite deity to name-check to this very day.
The continued presence of Apollo’s name inspired writer Kirk Shimano to create his short play for this year’s festival. From the Apollo Theater to the Apollo space program, Apollo’s presence is felt even by those who know nothing about him. Can anyone else in the Roman pantheon lay claim to a similar omnipresence? Kirk’s play imagines a world where the gods of old battle with the one measure of might that truly matters: the length of their Wikipedia disambiguation page.
APOLLO or SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO by Kirk Shimano
Directed by Sophia Mia Dipaola
Staged Reading on October 18, 2018 at the EXIT Theatre
Zoey Chien (The Slam Man)
Jess Rankin (Little Niko)
Dillon Siedentopf (Vulcan)
Jacob Soss (Apollo)
Karl Wieser (Neptune)
Since its second year, Kirk Shimano has written for every iteration of the Olympians festival. His play “Hero Creature Work,” originally commissioned as part of San Francisco Olympians V: Monsters’ Ball, was set in a visual effects studio. In a nice bit of art imitating art, it recently received a reading in a visual effects studio by some real visual effects artists. Kirk has also created the official Olympians app for every year that he has been involved with the festival.
The image of Apollo was created by Terezi Velasco.