Check out Art Director Cody Rishell’s amazing image for this year’s festival, WINE DARK SEA! And be sure to keep your eye on this page for further updates about all the exciting art, artists, new plays, and more coming this year!
The Monster Ball is Here!
This year we are excited to debut 28 new plays by 30 local writers- 13 of whom will be contributing written work to the festival for the first time! The plays range from shorts to one-acts to full-lengths, and each one explores a different monster from Greek mythology. The 2014 festival will play 12 nights, November 5-22, Wednesday through Saturday, at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco (156 Eddy Street). Tickets are $10.00 at the door, and can be purchased starting at 7:30 the night of the show. All shows begin at 8 PM. Audience members who attend more than four nights get the fifth free.
This year’s fine artists include: Molly Benson, Liz Conley, Maxon Crumb, Brett Grunig, Lacey C. Hawkins, Rusty Jackson, Emily C. Martin, Tonya Narvaez, Ashley Ramos, Cody Rishell, Aliana Rood, Michelle Talgarow, Brian Yee. The art will be on display at the EXIT Theatre the entire month of November!
This year’s lineup, all shows beginning at 8 PM.
November 5: Nymphs! Nymphs! Nymphs!
ASTERIAE or KING SISYPHUS by Bridgette Dutta Portman, directed by Valerie Fachman
When you’re trying to cheat death, it helps to have an immortal star-nymph as a wife. Or does it? A play in verse about the trickster Sisyphus and his wife, the Pleiad Merope.
DRYADS or THE DRYAD OF SUBURBIA by Marissa Skudlarek, directed by Valerie Fachman
In a suburban neighborhood blighted by both conformity and drought, Tom and Heidi’s daughter is convinced that she’s a tree spirit. Is this an innocent childhood game or a harmful delusion?
LAMPADES or LAMP RITUAL by Sam Bertken, Scott Baker
What is your greatest fear? Darkness? Madness? Losing a loved one? The reading of Lamp Ritual profiles an experiential piece that seeks to conquer your darkest nightmares.
NAIADS by Jennifer Roberts, directed by Valerie Fachman
When the CEO of Archon Energy, the world’s most powerful utility company, tries to greenwash away responsibility for dumping toxins into a dying river, a Naiad tries to inspire her to reconsider, but who will pay the ultimate price?
NEPHELE by Siyu Song, directed by Scott Baker
Watch Zeus take to the latest trend in online dating as he Catfishes an unsuspecting human - what happens at 6:34 of this play will ASTOUND you.
NEREIDS or THE WEAVERS by Sam Hurwitt, directed by Scott Baker
Odysseus is gone again, and Penelope isn’t waiting around anymore. Looking up all her husband’s old girlfriends, she finds the sea nymph Calypso spoiling for a fight.
OCEANIDS or THE DAUGHTERS OF OCEAN by Carol Lashof, directed by Valerie Fachman
In the war to restore Paganism, Prometheus has been taken captive by the ruling Christian Theocratic party. His wife, the sea nymph Hesione, is desperate to rescue him, but to reach his side she must cross a terrifying human city crowded with air-breathers, highways, and big box stores.
OREADS or POWER FORWARD by Leah Halper, directed by Scott Baker
Chelone, a mountain nymph and protector of tortoises, is the only immortal to stand up to Zeus on the matter of his coerced marriage to Hera-but her defiance may be contagious in this Silicon Valley re-conception of the myth that explained why tortoises have shells.
November 6: Half-Men
CENTAURS or THE HORSE’S ASS by Megan Cohen, directed by Ellery Schaar
A postmodern vaudeville comedy for two hilarious women, who spend a fleet forty minutes taking turns being the butt of the joke. Writer Megan Cohen (SF’s most-produced female playwright, Theatre Bay Area “Keep An Eye On” Emerging Artist Honoree, Neo-Futurist) saddles up history’s greatest half-human half-equine metaphor for a ride through power dynamics, carrots, and sticks.
SATYRS or SATYR NIGHT FEVER by Annette Roman and Bryant Turnage, directed by Greg Young
Since when did “horny as a goat” become a bad thing? A satyr who’s lost his mojo hires a modern-day pick-up artist as a dating coach in this bawdy romantic comedy exploring dating taboos past and present, real and mythic.
November 7: Winged Wonder
PEGASUS or PEGASUS: THE MOVIE (THE PLAY) by Kirk Shimano, directed by Sam Tillis
The story of the myth-makers of today, as a ragtag visual effect company scrambles to create an all-digital creature without destroying themselves in the process.
November 8: The Lord of The Beasts
PAN or PANDEMONIUM by Stuart Bousel, directed by Stuart Bousel
In a first for the festival, Stuart Bousel adapts six stories by E.M. Forster into a sprawling epic about a group of travelers whose lives are forever changed by a shared afternoon in the hills of Italy.
November 12: Deadly Dragons
TYPHON or THE BOOK OF TYPHON by Colin Johnson, directed by Colin Johnson
When a bizarre, withered text falls into the possession of one Malcolm Bodwin, it exposes him to the world’s oldest, most unspeakable evil.
HYDRA by Tonya Narvaez, directed by Tonya Narvaez
A family’s monsters come back to terrorize them. How far will they go to hide their past?
November 13: Evil Eyes
ARGUS by Peter Hsieh, directed by Rory Strahan-Mauk
After an embarrassing “Swan incident” scandal, Hera summons super surveillance drone Argus to spy on her husband Zeus. Trouble ensues when Hera discovers that Zeus had picked up a girl he met at a night club and turned her into a heifer in order to keep her hidden. Featuring sex, violence, blackmail, scandal, indestructible private jets, Ryan Gosling Mods, and Lars Von Trier’s entire filmography.
POLYPHEMUS by Vince Faso, directed by Rory Strahan-Mauk
Polyphemus, the hulking, savage, man-eating Cyclops, was outsmarted, blinded, and humiliated by the crafty Odysseus. Years later, when fate brings them together again, will there be room for forgiveness, or just dessert?
November 14: Three Heads Too Many
CERBERUS or HELLHOUND by Allison Page, directed by Allison Page
Six attractive 18 year olds fueled by teenage lust go camping in the woods and stumble across The River Styx, causing a three headed monster to pursue them with bloody fervor. It’s The Breakfast Club meets Cabin In The Woods meets a giant three-headed hellhound. Button up that letterman jacket - it’s going to be a bumpy night.
CHIMERA by Annie Paladino, directed by Addie Ulrey
A patchwork play for a patchwork monster, CHIMERA smashes together three stories-from the past, a dreamy version of the present, and an imagined future-of women who are not at ease in their own skin. Literary heroines, a woman whose body is literally coming apart at the seams, and a robotic superhero toy in need of a replacement head are spliced together to form the ugly, baffling monster that is this play.
November 15: Lone Hunters
GERYON or THE RED HOUSE MONSTER by Rachel Bublitz, directed by Ariel Craft
The largest house on the island sits high upon a hill, chains wrap around the doors and windows. No one can remember if these barricades were intended to keep the villagers out, or to keep the inhabitants within.
MINOTAUR by Veronica Tjioe, directed by Veronica Tjioe
A play for anyone who has ever felt lost and a profound sense of “in-betweeness” and would please like to know which way is out, thankyouverymuch. It is also good for lovers of cheap wine, close friends, and the merits of a nice ball of string.
November 19: Triple Threats
SIRENS or THE SISTERS SIRENE by Amelia Bethel and Christine Keating, directed by Libby Vega
The five Siren sisters have been maintaining chaos and bringing sexy back for millennia, but what happens when one sister longs for a new, less brutal, life? If you like sex and gore, with a sprinkle of mythological fervor, you’ll love The Sisters Sirene.
THE GRAEAE by Madeline Puccioni, directed by Libby Vega
The Three Graeae are the oldest goddesses in the world…so old they only have one eye and one tooth between them. Enyo’s the grumpiest, Deino is the best chef, and Pamphredo can still shape shift into a swan or a siren…sometimes both. Then she falls in love with Perseus, who will betray them all to find out where their sister Medusa lives…
HARPIES by Victoria Chong Der, directed by Libby Vega
Never mess with sisters.
November 20: Dangerous Brains
SPHINX by Jeremy Geist, directed by Christine Keating
After Oedipus guesses the Sphinx’s riddle, the Sphinx’s writing staff desperately tries to come up with a new one.
November 21, 2014: Dangerous Beauty
MEDUSA or BEAUTY SECRETS * by Andrew Saito, directed by Rem Myers
Medusa, a Kim Kardashian-esque celebrity, has an accident that severely scars her face and head while filming her first major movie, playing Helen of Troy. She retreats into seclusion. Years later, Medusa takes a blind sculptor as her live-in lover. His brother, Percy, an Air Force veteran, soon visits. He recognizes Medusa from her former life, and decides to share her face with the world.
* Beauty Secrets by Andrew Saito was co-commissioned by the Cutting Ball Theater where Saito is the current Andrew Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence.
November 22: Vagina Dentata
CHARYBDIS by Ashley Cowan, directed by Melinda Marks
It’s the night before Thanksgiving in an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. Only, things aren’t that anonymous when you’re starving and you run into your old high school classmates. So grab a snack and learn the tale of the lady who turned a sea monster for having an appetite.
ECHIDNA by Neil Higgins, directed by Melinda Marks
A serial killer is terrorizing San Francisco. Can gritty, play-by-his-own-rules Detective Argus stop the killer in time? Or has he finally met his match?
SCYLLA or DEATH BY THE HALF-DOZEN by Christian Simonsen, directed by Melinda Marks
Scylla is about to devour six of Odysseus’ battle-weary sailors. But instead of hungry reptilian jaws, each victim will see a vision of the one person in his life that inflicted - or received - the most pain. Are a woman’s tears really sharper than a serpent’s tooth?
Our incredible acting company this year includes Vonn Scott Bair, Erika Bakse, Patrick Barresi, Stuart Bousel, Molly Benson, Megan Briggs, Xanadu Bruggers, Sarah Rose Butler, Andrew Calabrese, Andrew Chung, Tony Cirimele, Megan Cohen, George Coker, Michael Conner, Alan Coyne, Colleen Egan, Juliana Egley, Alisha Ehrlich, Fatima Zahra El Filali, Nkechi Emeruwa, Angela Entzminger, Caitlin Evenson, Vince Faso, Allison Fenner, Jean Forsman, Rose Marie Fox, Frankie G., Tim Garcia, Jan Gilbert, Lorenz Gonzalez, James Grady, Ben Grubb, Matt Gunnison, Audrey Hannah, Mary Cait Hogan, Monica Ho, J Jha, Shelley Lynn Johnson, Heather Kellogg, Gabriel Kenney, Sunee Kiernan, Annabelle King, Abni Kris, Katrina Kroetch, Dan Kurtz, Keith Larson, Maria Leigh, William Leschber, Charles Lewis III, Carl Lucania, Adam Magill, Brian Martin, Mary Matabor, Stacey Matthews-Winn, Carlos Mendoza, Kelvyn Mitchell, Tonya Narvaez, Trinity Nay, Eden Neuendorf, Michelle Owen, Allison Page, Sunil Patel, Danielle Perata, Genevieve Perdue, Laura Peterson, Gabrielle Poccia, Scott Ragle, Radhika Rao, Leer Relleum, Nickolas Rice, Paul Rodrigues, Hilda Roe, Tina Rutsch, Sharon Rylander, Sophia Santulli, Kim Saunders, Karl Schackne, Samantha Schmitt, Amber Sommerfeld, Elissa Beth Stebbins, Jacinta Sutphin, Carole Swann, Sango Tajima, Ron Talbot, Griffin Taylor, Nick Trengove, Kitty Torres, Aaron Tworek, Nicky Weinbach, Matthew Weinberg, Richard Wenzel, Steven Westdahl, Teri Whipple, Indiia Wilmot, Susannah Wood, Steffanos X, Alaska Yamada, Marlene Yarosh, Jessica Yeh, Maggie Ziomek
The SF Olympians Festival is accepting letters of interest from directors between now and May 15, 2014. Please note that as a reading festival, SF Olympians is focused on the playwrights’ creation process and the development of new work. Ultimately, directors will be selected and contacted by the individual participating playwrights, coordinated by the Festival. To build our community of directors, we are offering potential directors two ways of engaging with our playwrights: submission of a letter of interest and an invitation to participate in our Directors/Playwrights Mixer on Tuesday, May 27th.
To be considered by the 2014 Olympians playwrights, please email the following information with the subject line “Olympians Director – [YOUR NAME]” to [email protected] by midnight on May 15, 2014. You may also use snail mail: Jeremy Cole, Director Coordinator, 2201 West Street, Apt. B, Oakland CA 94612
Letter of Interest Guidelines:
1. Please provide your name, phone number, and email address.
2. What does new play development mean to you as a director?
3. Which is your favorite Greek monster? (just kidding, it’s obviously Medusa)
4. Have you ever participated in the Olympians Festival before? If yes, please list your involvement.
5. Availability for Important Dates (see below).
6. Your resume.
In your email, please include the line: “I understand that directing a reading in the festival is a volunteer project.”
Directors/Playwrights Mixer, Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The day after Memorial Day, we will be hosting a mixer to allow our playwrights to meet potential directors. This is a fun opportunity to get to know other members of the theater community. Participation in this event is not required, but highly recommended.
IMPORTANT DATES
Tuesday, May 15 @ midnight - Final date to submit Letter of Interest
Tuesday, May 27 – 7PM – Directors/Playwrights Mixer (Oakland)
Monday, June 9 – 7 PM – Directors Meeting (SF)
Sunday, September 21 – 6PM – Writers and Directors Meeting
Sunday, September 28 – AUDITIONS - 2 PM till 9 PM
Monday, September 29 – AUDITIONS - 7 PM till 10 PM
Saturday, November 1 - OPENING PARTY
Wednesdays-Saturdays, November 5 – 22 – THE FESTIVAL – All shows are at 8 PM
We hope to see you soon on Olympus!
Join over a hundred Bay Area writers, directors, actors, and fine artists to become a part of one of San Francisco’s most exciting new theater festivals!
The San Francisco Olympians Festival is an annual event that lasts for twelve nights (thirteen, if you count our opening party!) with a focus on the creation of new scripts for the theater in addition to providing a showcase for Bay Area fine artists, actors and writers.
The Festival was started in 2010 by Stuart Bousel, and featured 12 new full length plays, each one based on one of the twelve Olympian gods of Ancient Greece. In 2011 the festival returned with 32 plays, ranging from five minute shorts to full lengths, each one based upon an Ancient Greek sky god or mythical figure who had become a constellation, moon, etc. In 2012 we debuted 25 one acts, each night pitting a play about an Olympian god against a play about a Titan, the race of gods who sired the Olympian gods, and were then overthrown by them. Last year we premiered 36 new plays about the Trojan War.
This year we are excited to premiere 28 new plays by 30 local writers- 13 of whom will be contributing written work to the festival for the first time! The plays range from shorts to one acts to full lengths, and each one explores a different monster. It will play 12 nights, November 5-22, at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco, and if previous years are indicative of a trend, (every year we’ve broken our own records), we expect this to be the largest festival yet in terms of participants and audience!
Well, a bigger festival requires a bigger base of support, but we’re actually tightening our budget and asking for the same amount as last year- even though the cost of creating a theater festival has, like everything else in the world, gone up. We’re looking to raise $10,000- a really big number- because:
$3,600 of the money we raise goes to keeping the doors of the theater open, the lights turned on and the water running- all really necessary! The rest of the money we raise is split two ways…
The first half goes to marketing and materials: postcards, posters, programs, high quality printings of the work created by our fine artists, the catering for our opening night party, and of course, all the photocopies of these brand new scripts we need for the readings.
The second half goes towards maintaining last year’s lofty goal of paying everyone who works on the festival a stipend of some kind. In previous years actors and writers were paid, and we held raffles to raise some funds for the artists, but our entire production team and crew, including our box office manager and all of our directors, were volunteers. Last year we changed that by creating enough funds to offer everyone a small thank you for the hours, days and weeks they put into this project. If we meet our goal, we’ll be able to do this again, and maybe even have enough left over to put some money away for next year- something we’ve never been able to do!
Most importantly, if we manage to raise all of our funds, we’ll be able to keep our ticket price (which is only $10) low and our comp policy generous, ensuring that the wide variety of audiences looking to experience these new works can do so affordably.
When you support this festival, you’re not just supporting the 30 writers whose work will be presented this year, but also the 80+ actors we predict this festival will use, a dozen directors, and a dozen fine artists, the staff of the festival, and the theater where we work, the theater itself, the neighborhood it is located in, and the cultural life of the city that is our home. Events like the San Francisco Olympians Festival are part of what make the Bay Area a unique and inspiring place to be, a leader in the arts nationally, and a center for intellectual experiment and advancement.
The San Francisco Olympians Festival has been gaining momentum since its first year, with eight plays that were first given a public reading in the festival having gone on to full productions: 2010’s Hermes (No Nude Men Productions, Dramaworks, Bread and Water Theatre), Juno En Victoria (Wily West Productions), and Salty Towers (Thunderbird Theater Company); 2011’s Cassiopeia (Eat Street Players), Chronus (Bread and Water Theatre), You’re Going To Bleed (DivaFest), and Pleiades (No Nude Men Productions); 2013’s Take Me Home: a One-woman Odyssey (Lucy Tafler Presents)- soon to make its international debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! Many others have received additional readings on local and national stages, including: 2011’s Joe Ryan (Impact Theatre), Pleiades (Atlantic Stage), Io (Eat Street Players), and Selene, or Someone Like The Moon (EXIT Theatre); 2012’s Caenis and Poseidon (Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco), and Twins (San Francisco State); 2013’s Under The Gods’ Golden Cleets (Dramatist Guild). 2013’s Walls Of Troy was a finalist for the Stanley Drama Award and the entire festival won “Playwriting Series Most Likely to Win a Gold Medal” from the SF Guardian. Additionally, EXIT Press has released a collection of five plays from year one of the festival, Songs of Hestia, and ten plays from year two, Heavenly Bodies, now available for purchase on Amazon.com and at bookstores across the country. So when you support our festival you’re also supporting American Theater, Literature and Art, and adding to the cultural heritage of generations of artists and audience yet to come!
Thank you for giving whatever you can give, for passing this campaign on to others you know who may want to support us, and for helping this festival continue to grow!
The San Francisco Olympians Festival is returning and will need dozens of actors for its 2014 festival which plays November 5-22!
In the month of November in 2014, No Nude Men Productions, one of San Francisco’s longest running indy theater troupes, will roll out 28 new plays written by 30 local writers, each one focusing on (or inspired by) a different monster from Greek mythology.
Each of these 28 plays will receive a dramatic reading at the EXIT Theatre, and for that we’ll need actors, so if you’re the kind of person who can act AND read (no, it’s not a given), we’d love to have you join us in continuing the saga of unrepentant creativity that is the San Francisco Olympians Festival!
Rehearsals will all be in October and November, and will involve 3-5 MAX for each show. The show schedule is as follows, with all shows happening on the mainstage of the EXIT Theater, at 8 PM :
November 5:
ASTERIAE by Bridgette Dutta Portman, directed by Valerie Fachman
DRYADS by Marissa Skudlarek, directed by Valerie Fachman
LAMPADES by Sam Bertken, directed by Scott Baker
NAIADS by Jennifer Roberts, directed by Valerie Fachman
NEPHELE by Siyu Song, directed by Scott Baker
NEREIDS by Sam Johansen Hurwitt, directed by Scott Baker
OCEANIDS by Carol Lashof, directed by Valerie Fachman
OREADS by Playwright Leah Halper, directed by Scott Baker
November 6
CENTAURS by Megan Cohen, directed by Ellery Schaar
SATYRS by Annette Roman and Bryant Turnage, directed by Greg Young
November 7
PEGASUS by Kirk Shimano, directed by Sam Tillis
November 8
PAN by Stuart Bousel, directed by Stuart Bousel
November 12
HYDRA by Tonya Narvaez, directed by Tonya Narvaez
TYPHON by Colin Johnson, directed by Colin Johnson
November 13
ARGUS by Peter Hsieh, directed by Rory Strahan-Mauk
POLYPHEMUS by Vince Faso, directed by Rory Strahan-Mauk
November 14
CERBERUS by Allison Page, directed by Allison Page
CHIMERA by Annie Paladino, directed by Addie Ulrey
November 15
GERYON by Rachel Kessinger Bublitz, directed by Ariel Craft
MINOTAUR by Veronica Tjioe, directed by Veronica Tjioe
November 19
SIRENS by Amelia Bethel and Christine Keating, directed by Libby Vega
HARPIES by Victoria Chong Der, directed by Libby Vega
GRAEAE by Madeline Puccioni, directed by Libby Vega
November 20
SPHINX by Jeremy Geist, directed by Christine Keating
November 21
MEDUSA by Andrew Saito, directed by Rem Myers
November 22
SCYLLA by Christian Simonsen, directed by Melinda Marks
ECHIDNA by Neil Higgins, directed by Melinda Marks
CHARYBDIS by Ashley Cowan Leschber, directed by Melinda Marks
Auditions are September 28, 2 PM to 10 PM, and September 29, 7-10 PM, at the Exit. Please e-mail [email protected] to schedule an audition slot.
Auditions will consist of reading aloud passages of text we choose ahead of time. Please bring a headshot and resume. Leave yourself at least half an hour to get through the audition process.
There is a small stipend, determined by attendance each night of the festival (i.e. you get a percentage of the box office, usually works out to approximately $25 an actor).
If scheduling permits (and you’re interested), all actors will be considered for multiple plays/nights of the festival.
For more information about the festival and the individual plays and authors, check out www.sfolympians.com
Please pass this on to any actors you may know!
Sorry, but we can not use AEA performers for this event (as much as we’d like to).
SAN FRANCISCO OLYMPIANS FESTIVAL VI: WINE DARK SEA
Want to write for the Olympians Festival?
Well, now is your chance!
We are now accepting submissions for the 2015 San Francisco Olympians Festival, a multi-discipline, nationally recognized new works theater festival based at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco!
Proposals due by midnight on September 30th, with the line-up for next year’s festival to be announced 11/1/2014. Our first meeting will be on December 12 of 2014.
The festival will take place in November of 2015, from November 4-November 21, Wedesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8 PM.
Each night of the festival will consist of the staged reading of either a full-length play or a series of shorts, inspired by the mythical gods and heroes of Ancient Greece. The subjects, and the lengths of the plays we’re looking for, are specified below.
There are no submission fees. The Olympians Festival is non-exclusive and does not retain ownership of any play created for it, beyond the initial staged reading. Participating writers should be local (San Francisco and the greater Bay Area), and will be expected to help promote the festival and contribute a raffle prize of their choice to be raffled off to the audience on the night their play is read. Writers are also expected to attend 4-6 meetings over the course of the year, and our auditions, which happen in September.
Writers are encouraged to submit as many proposals as they want for as many topics as they like. Applications for a topic can be submitted by individuals or writers can work in pairs, or teams of three or more. Writers may be picked for more than one project, and should note that they’d like to be considered for more than one (or not). Each proposal should be 500 words or less and answer three questions:
1) Why you?
2) Why this figure?
3) What is your idea?
All proposals should be submitted electronically to Stuart at [email protected].
2015′s subjects are as follows. Only one is currently claimed and submissions are encouraged for all of the rest:
Week One: THE DIVINE AQUATIC (11/4-11/7)
Wednesday, November 4: The Trumpeter
Full-Length: TRITON
Royal Prince of the sea, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, leader of the mer-folk, the sound of his trumpet was the roar of the waves.
Thursday, November 5: A Bevy of Beauties
Short: THETIS, goddess of the tides
Short: INO LEUCOTHEA, goddess of seagulls
Short: PSAMATHE, goddess of sandy beaches
Short: DORIS, goddess of fish
Short: BRIZO, protectoress of sailors
Short: GALENE, goddess of calm waters
Short: CYMOPLEIA, goddess of the waves
Short: EURYBIA, goddess of sailing
Friday, November 6: Old Men of the Sea
A pair of mysterious, prophetic sea gods who may actually be the same figure, and to this day echo with the mystery of secret cults.
Full-Length: NEREUS and PROTEUS
Saturday, November 7: The Ruling Couple
One-Act: POSEIDON, god of the sea
One-Act: AMPHITRITE, his queen
Week Two: ARGONAUTICA (11/11-11/14)
Wednesday, November 11: The Crew
Act One: Singles
Short: ATALANTA, the only female crew, greatest hunter on earth
Short: ORPHEUS, famed musician whose song defeated the sirens
Short: TELAMON, the helmsman
Short: ADMETUS, whose life would cross the paths of many heroes
Act Two: Pairs
Short: CASTOR/POLLUX, twin brothers, one mortal, one divine
Short: CALAIS/ZETES, twin brothers, winged, sons of the wind
Short: PELEUS/LAERTES, young kings who would one day father the two great heroes of the Trojan War- Achilles and Odysseus
Short: HERACLES/HYLAS, the greatest hero who ever lived and the cabin-boy he loved and lost
Thursday, November 12: The Captain
Full-Length: JASON
Orphaned at birth and sent on a quest to reclaim his rightful throne, Jason has been both honored and demonized throughout the years, but his quest remains second only to the Odyssey as the greatest sea voyage of western literature.
Friday, November 13: The Girl
Full-Length: MEDEA
Princess, sorceress, murderess, Medea is one of Greek mythology’s most complex female figures, both reviled and revered and one of the few mortals to achieve god-hood, but at a terrible cost.
Saturday, November 14: The Ship
Full-Length: THE ARGO
The greatest ship of the classical era, complete with a talking masthead in the likeness of the goddess Hera.
Week Three: FATHOMLESS BLUE (11/18-11/21)
Wednesday, November 18: Masters of the Surf
One-Act: AKHEILOS, god of sharks (CLAIMED)
One-Act: DELPHIN, gold of dolphins
Thursday, November 19: Island Rulers
One-Act: AEOLUS, keeper of the winds and king of a floating island
One-Act: CIRCE, the original sea-witch, daughter of Helios, mistress of magic, lover of Odysseus and mentor to Medea
Friday, November 20:
One-Act: OCEANUS, the Titan who ruled the ocean that surrounded the world and which carried the Sun and Moon from set to rise
One-Act: TETHYS, his Titan bride, mistress of the deep seas and all that lived there.
Saturday, November 21: The Bottomless Deep
Full Length: PONTOS
The first water god, son of Ouranos and Gaea, Pontos is the primordial ocean, the bottomless deep, the Abyss, the mystery and miracle of water.
Definitions:
Short- Ten to Fifteen Minutes
One-Act- Twenty-five to Fifty Minutes
Full Length- Sixty Minutes to Two Hours
Happy Brainstorming! We look forward to your submissions!
We’re excited to publish the list of our 2014 Olympians Festival donors!
This list is only partial. Some donors choose to remain anonymous, and many people donate in ways other than cash: their time, their energy, their expertize, their network, etc. Behind every festival, every theater production, there is always a plethora of people coming together in a myriad of ways to make it happen. No donor list or program credits are ever truly comprehensive.
To all the people on this list, and all the people who aren’t on it, thank you for all you do to make this vision a reality. The festival couldn’t happen without you, and we hope you love all the great work that comes out of it, the result of all the love and support you put in.
Paul Anderson
Larissa Archer
Christina Augello
AJ Baker
Mary Ann Bell
Magan Biggs
Jane Bousel
Robin Bousel
Megan Briggs
Rachel Bublitz
Randall F Bublitz
Fred Burke
Madeline Butler
Benjamin J. Calabrese
Michelle M. Carter
Louise Castaldi
Christine Cathcart
Lily Chih-Yuan Yang
Christie K. Chew
Andrew Chung
Shelly F Cohen
Jeremy Cole
Cecilia Comparini
Roy Conboy
Benjamin Cooper
Ashley Cowan
The Cutting Ball Theatre Company
Roberta D’Alois
Gregory Dalesandre
Theresa Donahoe
Danielle Doyle
Susan M. Dunn
M Colleen Egan
Juliana E Egley
Robert Estes
The EXIT Theatre
Valerie Fachman
Donna L. Fujita
David Gamboa
Jeremy Geist
Jan Gilbert
Gene Gore
James M Grady
Kari Gray
Matt Gunnison
Maura Halloran
Leah C. Halper
George Heymont
Peter Hsieh
Colin Hussey
Colin Johnson
Angharad Jones
Barbara M. Jwanouskos
Brian Katz
Christine Keating
Maurya Keating
Heather S. Kellogg
Katherine Kessinger
Melissa Klepetar
Kathleen Kneisel
Sylvia M. Kratins
Dan Kurtz
Stephanie Lansberg
Joyce C Lashof
William Leschber
Charles S. Lewis III
Carl Lucania
Adam Magill
Max L. Meyers
Anthony Miller
Laylah Muran de Assereto
Tonya J. Narvaez
William T Newton
Helen Noakes
James D O’Connor
Alan L Olejniczak
Amanda Ortmeyer
Allison Page
Wesley Pan
Sunil Patel
Kathleen M Payne
Jacqueline Peters
Evelyn Jean Pine
Tracy L. Potter
Bridgette A. Portman
Madeline Puccioni
Claire Rice
Kelly L. Rinehart
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Here’s another installment of Bryce Duzan’s CASSANDRA play, which we’re serializing this year to help build your appetite for the festival in November. Enjoy!
CASSANDRA
by Bryce Duzan
Act Two
Scene Two
(History has reversed. It is now the time of Ancient Rome, the day of Julius Caesar’s coronation as emperor. CASSANDRA paces back and forth, away from the cheering crowds that await Caesar’s approach.)
CASSANDRA
What shall I do now? I know the future that will come if I allow this. Caesar will be murdered if he is crowned king. His murder will lead, to a civil war in Rome and, eventually, to the downfall of Rome itself. Hundreds of thousands will be displaced or killed. But how do I seek an audience with him? How do I approach him? How do I even form an argument to sway him?
Ah! If only I had some contacts from the old days. The friends I had formed after escaping the palace of Agamemnon were great indeed, but…they have long since passed now. And I remain…unchanged. (She looks at her hands.) I cannot believe that Apollo would go to such lengths to curse me. First my sight, now my life. Both extend into eternity, and there is nothing I can do to stop either…and where has he gone? I have not seen him for many years, though I still feel his sight upon me from time to time. Has he slipped into the pages of history? I doubt I should be so lucky. If he were to disappear, I would hope that my curses would disappear with him.
Still, a small part of me is thankful for the strange things I have seen. Were I still mortal, I would not be privy to the rise of Rome. But the Roman people are strange to me. Their customs and ways seem far more brutish than those of Greece. I find more in common with their slaves than their royalty! Yet, slaves cannot grant you an audience with a king.
(A cheer erupts from the crowd.)
The parade has begun! He will be here within minutes. Perhaps I can give him some sort of warning…
(APOLLO emerges from the crowd.)
APOLLO
I see you are plotting again, Cassandra.
CASSANDRA
Apollo! I knew you could not be far from me. Why are you here?
APOLLO
You are attempting to influence history, Cassandra. You are trying to change the future you see. Why?
CASSANDRA
I do not want what happened to my home to happen here. There are many people that would suffer in the coming war if Caesar is assassinated.
APOLLO
And what about the future you cannot see? What would happen if Caesar were to remain as king?
CASSANDRA
What do you mean?
APOLLO
Think of it. Caesar obtains the power he desires, but soon, it is not enough. He craves more. It becomes a hunger inside of himself, devouring all it can. Soon he is driven insane, and all of his subjects suffer under his rule. Can you not see it?
CASSANDRA
That…is not true! You are just trying to confuse me! There is only one future written as of now, and I am trying to change it.
APOLLO
There is one future that you can see, Cassandra. The future that will come to pass. But there are countless other possibilities.
CASSANDRA
How do you know what will happen?
(APOLLO chuckles.)
APOLLO
You may be immortal, my dear Cassandra, but you are not a god.
CASSANDRA
So…you say that whatever I do, I will not be able to affect fate?
APOLLO
Indeed. You cannot change humans. They will find a way to destroy themselves in
the end.
CASSANDRA
No, there must be something I can do!
APOLLO
Cassandra, stop this foolishness. When you have seen humans squabble amongst themselves for as long as I have, for as many petty reasons as there are stars in the sky, you realize the pointlessness of it all. I too, was once concerned for them. Then I grew angry at them. Then…well, it is all amusement to me now.
CASSANDRA
And you do not believe you sometimes squabble over petty reasons with your divine brothers and sisters?
APOLLO
Please, we are above such things!
CASSANDRA
Is that so? I seem to remember a certain story about a girl who resisted your advances, so you cruelly cursed her for the rest of time…
(They are silent for a moment.)
APOLLO
So you wish to try to save this Caesar?
CASSANDRA
His fate is less important to me. It is the fate of the Roman people whom I care for.
APOLLO
How interesting! How much you’ve changed already, Cassandra!
CASSANDRA
What?
APOLLO
I seem to remember a girl whose city had burned to the ground. Weeping, she returned to the ruins of her once-glorious home, and sought not for the common men and women, but her own family.
CASSANDRA
Are you accusing me of not caring for the common folk of Troy? I shed tears every day for my people-
APOLLO
Yes, “your people,” you say. It’s always “your people.” But what people? You call out for Hector, for Priam, for Hecuba, but never have a name for the commoners who lived and died serving you and yours! What about the peasants, the soldiers, the hundreds, no, thousands who died fighting for Troy and Troy’s royal family? What about the innocent merchants and craftsmen, the wives and children of the soldiers, all huddled in the city, looking to your family to save them from destruction? Whose salvation was never secured, and who died knowing it was you who had failed them? Those are your people, Cassandra, and you failed them!
CASSANDRA
Enough! You do not know about these people, Apollo, you knew nothing of their plight! How dare you suggest that I did not care for them! I poured my heart and soul into caring for them, and they knew it. They loved and respected me for everything I tried to do to help them!
APOLLO
But you hated them too, did you not?
CASSANDRA
What are you talking about?
APOLLO
When you first received your…gift, did you not feel hate in your heart when they turned their backs on you?
CASSANDRA
No, never! They…simply did not understand…they could not understand!
APOLLO
Yet they shunned you! For all the kindness you had shown them, they laughed at you, called you mad!
CASSANDRA
They…yes, they did.
APOLLO
And it pained you, did it not?
CASSANDRA
…it did. So very much. I needed them, and they all turned their backs on me.
APOLLO
So, tell me. Why do these people deserve your pity? What makes them so special?
CASSANDRA
…no! I will not hear these words from you! This is too much. Your words eat holes into my brain and drive me mad with fury. Enough! (She turns to leave, then stops.) No, wait…you are pushing me away. You are trying to make me leave, are you not? Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to stop me?
APOLLO
I simply do not want you to be crestfallen when you have failed, that is all.
CASSANDRA
You are hiding something from me. What is it? Tell me!
(APOLLO smirks and turns away. CASSANDRA grabs him by the arm and spins him to face her. He is genuinely shocked by the action.)
APOLLO
I…a mortal should not be able to change the future, Cassandra!
(Cheers erupt from the crowd once more.)
CASSANDRA
Watch me do so.
(CASSANDRA moves to the crowd.)
APOLLO
He will not believe you, Cassandra, try as you might!
CASSANDRA
I must try, Apollo. I must try.
(CASSANDRA pushes past the crowd and calls out to CAESAR, who is attended by CASCA and BRUTUS.)
CASSANDRA
Caesar!
CAESAR
Ha! who calls?
CASCA
Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!
CAESAR
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry ‘Caesar!’ Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear.
CASSANDRA
Beware the ides of March.
CAESAR
What woman is that?
BRUTUS
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
CAESAR
Set her before me; let me see her face.
CASSIUS
You, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.
CAESAR
What say’st thou to me now? speak once again.
CASSANDRA
Beware the ides of March.
CAESAR
She is a dreamer; let us leave her: pass.
(CAESAR, CASCA, and BRUTUS leave, the cheers of the crowd echoing all around. APOLLO is left as the crowd follows CAESAR.)
CASSANDRA
He…did not even heed my warning.
APOLLO
Indeed. ‘Tis a shame. I thought you might really make him believe for a moment.
CASSANDRA
You had something to do with this. I know it!
APOLLO
I did not.
CASSANDRA
You must have! You did something, empowered my curse, made my truths seem like greater lies!
APOLLO
Cassandra, you were the daughter of a king once. But that was many, many years ago. Who are you now? Troy is all but forgotten by these people. And you, by all accounts, should be dead…for a great number of reasons, I might add. You are just another woman wandering the world now.
CASSANDRA
That is where you are wrong, Apollo. I am so much more. This is not over. I will change this world, I swear it.
APOLLO
Why do you bother, Cassandra? This war is lost. Caesar heads to his doom.
CASSANDRA
Do you not see it? Far ahead, hundreds of years in the future…fire enveloping the earth…tragedy like Troy a hundredfold.
APOLLO
(Chuckles.) Perhaps you are mad, dear. Come, end this-
CASSANDRA
No! Leave me be, Apollo. I have much to do now.
(CASSANDRA storms off. APOLLO makes no move to follow her.)
APOLLO
Run as much as you want, Cassandra. One day you will realize how pointless it is. All I have to do is wait…and time is on my side.
(BLACKOUT)
Keep checking for more installments!
Here’s another installment of Bryce Duzan’s CASSANDRA play, which we’re serializing this year to help build your appetite for the festival in November. Enjoy!
CASSANDRA
by Bryce Duzan
Act Two
Scene Four
(It is now the mid-1800s, in the lobby of the Ford Theater, the day of Abraham Lincoln’s death. CASSANDRA paces in the lobby. She is dressed for the times, wearing a fine gown. However, she looks tired. Eternally tired.)
CASSANDRA
Why am I here? On another fool’s errand? Trying to stop a future hurtling towards me with impossible speed? Towards this…gods-forsaken world? Why do I keep trying? All I do is fail. It seems insurmountable. Even more aggravating is the fact that every time I try to change the future…I always feel him.
(As she says this, APOLLO enters the theater, dressed in a fine suit.)
APOLLO
Thinking of me, love?
CASSANDRA
Apollo! What are you doing here?
APOLLO
I could ask the same of you! It doesn’t seem like you’re here to take in a night of theater. Though, if you are, I do have a spare ticket…
CASSANDRA
You’re right, I’m not here for the show. I’m here to save the president. He is going to be assassinated after the show.
APOLLO
By one of the actors, yes, a Mr. John Wilkes Booth. And, let me guess, you want to stop him?
CASSANDRA
Of course. President Lincoln’s assassination would send the country into turmoil, so shortly after it has settled into peace.
APOLLO
Let them tear themselves apart! This young country was founded on the wrong ideals anyhow.
CASSANDRA
Wrong ideals? The United States of America was founded on the principles of freedom, justice, liberty-
APOLLO
And in the same breath was built on the back of slavery and oppression!
CASSANDRA
They are young. They will learn.
APOLLO
You are…ever the optimist, Cassandra.
CASSANDRA
Perhaps I am. I prefer wide-eyed optimism to harsh pessimism, at least.
(There is a pause.)
APOLLO
So where have you been for so long? I’d lost track of you in the seas of time.
CASSANDRA
That can’t be. I always felt your presence at times like these.
APOLLO
You must have been imagining things. “Times like these?” So you’ve tried to influence time before? After our little Caesar incident, that is.
CASSANDRA
Tried, yes. But rarely succeeded.
APOLLO
Do tell.
CASSANDRA
I don’t have time for this, Apollo.
APOLLO
Nonsense. You’re quite early. Booth won’t be here for some time, and the audience won’t be arriving until long after that.
CASSANDRA
(Sighs.) Fine. Where do I start…I hid myself from the world after Caesar’s death. I was ashamed that I had failed. For a long time I hid and lost myself in thought. When I emerged…the world had changed. The proud Roman people with their gladiators, their stolen gods, and their Senate had gone. In their place were knights clad in iron, monarchs ruling strips of land, and a strict system of honor. I saw an emperor rise to power, uniting the kingdoms. All of this and I stood by and watched. In Rome, the popes rose and fell, one after another, a line of religious leaders. Then, one of them sounded a call for action. He called them the Crusades. It was to be a massacre.
APOLLO
And so you acted?
CASSANDRA
I tried, yes. But my words could not convince the pope, and I feared if I said too much, I would be accused of blasphemy. The tenants of this religion called Christianity were much more strict when it came to…the old ways.
APOLLO
Yes, I’ve noticed.
CASSANDRA
…what is your life like now?
APOLLO
What?
CASSANDRA
Well, at least in Rome, they still knew you, though you were called by a different name.
APOLLO
They still know the name of Apollo here!
CASSANDRA
Hardly. They speak of you like a fairy tale. It’s just a word to them. They do not truly know you like the Greeks did. I’m surprised you haven’t…
APOLLO
Haven’t what?
CASSANDRA
No, nothing, don’t pay me any attention.
APOLLO
Well…it’s true. They do not worship me as the Greeks did. They do not tell my stories like the Romans did. They hardly acknowledge my existence except in some scattered writings. It is…infuriating. I was…I am a god! I deserve respect!
CASSANDRA
So…why do you not make them respect you?
APOLLO
I…I will. (For a moment, his composure is gone. He is lost. Then, it’s back, and he is all charm again.) But anyhow, this isn’t about me, is it? It’s about you. Please continue.
CASSANDRA
Alright…the next event I met a French girl named Jeanne. I saw her future, a future where her country was crushed, leading to England becoming too strong and crushing the world in a tyrannical grip. However, I saw that Jeanne was special, and that she could help me change fate.
APOLLO
How was she special?
CASSANDRA
Well, I do not know how, but when I spoke frankly and told her the future…she believed me. Immediately.
APOLLO
What? That isn’t possible!
CASSANDRA
Trust me, I know, Apollo. (Pause.) I told her what I had seen, and she said…she called me an angel sent by God to lead her people to victory. I…was just so happy that someone believed me for once.
APOLLO
So what went wrong?
CASSANDRA
What?
APOLLO
We both know how this story ends, Cassandra.
CASSANDRA
She…was too eager. After she won battle after battle, I saw the future change. She would be captured and executed for heresy. Somehow, she knew I was hiding something. She demanded the full story.
APOLLO
Which was?
CASSANDRA
That her death would be a symbol for the French people. That years afterwards she would provide strength to them in times of need. She sacrificed herself, even when I begged her not to. I…let her die.
APOLLO
And what if you had protected her? Then your original vision would have come true! Would you protect one girl in exchange for a country?
CASSANDRA
No, but…I was close to her. I felt like a sister to her. I had…not been that close to someone in a long time.
APOLLO
Cassandra…
CASSANDRA
I am not like you, Apollo. I do not have godhood to keep me busy. I am merely a mortal who cannot age. Why…why make friends when they just die in a matter of time? Why try to get close to someone? All it ends with…is pain. Pain at the loss. By now, I have seen babies born, age, die, and decay to dust. I have seen empires rise and fall. But her death…I was there, Apollo.
APOLLO
I’m sorry, Cassandra.
CASSANDRA
You wouldn’t understand, Apollo. You and your kind are much too alien to understand true grief.
APOLLO
I…did not intend to hurt you, Cassandra. I merely meant-
CASSANDRA
To punish me.
APOLLO
No! I was just trying-
CASSANDRA
Do not try to twist your words, Apollo! I know why you have cursed me. Cursed me twice, even. If you wanted to apologize for your actions, you have had plenty of time. I have wandered the world waiting for the end to come, and it still has not.
APOLLO
Is that what you want, Cassandra? The end to come?
CASSANDRA
I do not want to be timeless, Apollo. I do not want to see everyone I meet crumble into dust in front of me. I do not want to see this world crumble and rebuild itself anymore. I…I just can’t.
APOLLO
Then join me and give up this pain at last! You will never feel pain again by my side, I swear it.
CASSANDRA
Never. I would rather rot here and be free than be a slave to you.
APOLLO
You would not be a slave, Cassandra. I would treat you-
CASSANDRA
Hush! He’s coming.
(JOHN WILKES BOOTH enters. He is a proud Southern man. He is dressed well and seems to be in a hurry.)
APOLLO
That is him?
CASSANDRA
Yes. Excuse me, sir, Mr. Booth?
BOOTH
Yes? Can I help you, miss?
CASSANDRA
(Curtsies slightly.) Cassie Sanders, Mr. Booth. I wanted to speak with you before the play.
BOOTH
Well aren’t you a pretty face? (Glances at APOLLO.) This your husband?
CASSANDRA
(Chuckles.) God, no.
BOOTH
Well then, what can I do for you? Need an autograph signed?
CASSANDRA
Not exactly, no.
BOOTH
What is it then?
CASSANDRA
You need to not kill Lincoln today.
BOOTH
…I’m sorry, what?
CASSANDRA
You’re planning on assassinating President Lincoln today at the show. You can’t do it.
BOOTH
I’m sorry, lass, but you’re not making any sense! Why would I kill the president of the United States?
CASSANDRA
You’re an accomplished actor, Mr. Booth, but I know what you will do. You hate President Lincoln, and you think assassinating him is the only way to fix things. I’m here to tell you that you are very wrong.
BOOTH
So what, are you going to arrest me?
CASSANDRA
No, I’m here to simply ask you. Don’t do it.
BOOTH
How do you know I’m going to kill him?
CASSANDRA
I have my ways, Mr. Booth.
BOOTH
Look, why not? He smothered the South, that son of a bitch, he deserves to pay for what he did to my people!
CASSANDRA
John, you don’t know what you’re doing. You don’t know the implications of your actions! If you kill him then the South will suffer even more.
BOOTH
How do you know what will happen to the South?
CASSANDRA
Because…I’ve seen it.
BOOTH
…right. And I’m the queen of England. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a show to perform.
CASSANDRA
Mr. Booth, please see reason! (He turns to leave.) They’ll catch you within the month. (He stops.) In that month, you will despair as you learn that the entire country, North and South, mourns. It will happen at a farm. You refuse to leave, so they set it on fire. An officer, full of rage, shoots you. You die in a puddle of your own blood. And you are vilified for the rest of history. Is that how you want this to happen?
BOOTH
You…who are you?
CASSANDRA
More than you can comprehend, Mr. Booth.
(Suddenly, audience members begin to trickle in.)
BOOTH
He’s coming…!
(He turns to leave.)
CASSANDRA
Booth, wait! (He leaves.) DAMN IT!
APOLLO
He seemed shaken by your words. Perhaps that was enough?
CASSANDRA
No. It hasn’t changed…nothing has changed! (She stares hard at APOLLO.) This isn’t over. It won’t happen. I won’t let it!
APOLLO
Let what happen, Cassandra? (She exits.) Cassandra, wait!
(BLACKOUT)
Check back next week for the last installment!
Here’s another installment of Bryce Duzan’s CASSANDRA play, which we’re serializing this year to help build your appetite for the festival in November. Enjoy!
CASSANDRA
by Bryce Duzan
ACT TWO
Scene 5
(It is now 1918, just after the end of the first World War. The scene opens on an abandoned and mostly destroyed European village. CASSANDRA is sitting, leaning against a bombed-out building. She is weeping, her head in her hands. There is a pall of stillness in the air. Eventually, the silence is broken by APOLLO, trudging through the mist. He has a look of shock and bewilderment. CASSANDRA quickly looks up at his entrance. She sees him, and in a flash is on her feet, charging him. She pushes him to the ground and stands over him.)
CASSANDRA
You! Why are you here?
APOLLO
Cassandra…! I felt you were here.
CASSANDRA
Yes, I am here. Now why are you here?
APOLLO
I…what has happened? The last four years…how gripped in madness the world was! The horrors…they called it a World War. The world…gripped in flames. This is what you saw, isn’t it?
CASSANDRA
Yes. This is what I tried to prevent. I failed, clearly. Every move stymied. Every truth turned aside. How could this happen? How could I let this happen?
APOLLO
At least…it is over now.
CASSANDRA
No, you stupid fool! Fifteen more years and it will happen again! This time longer and even more bloody! The millions put to death…oh gods, it is terrible!
(APOLLO finally stands back up and composes himself.)
APOLLO
Then will you try to prevent it as well?
CASSANDRA
Why? Why should I bother trying just to fail again? Why am I forced to be the one to try to save an unwitting world? Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you try to save them?
APOLLO
I…can’t.
CASSANDRA
What?
APOLLO
I lack the power now.
CASSANDRA
You lost it? How?
APOLLO
There is no faith in the gods of yore now. They believe their one, or they place belief in their own capabilities. I do not blame them. What have we done? What…have I done to help them? Now I cannot. I can do nothing but stand by in mute terror. For eternity, I assume.
CASSANDRA
And I…?
APOLLO
You are the only one keeping me here, Cassandra. Please, go with me. The others have left this world already. They wait for me in Olympus.
CASSANDRA
No.
APOLLO
Why not?
CASSANDRA
Do you not understand, Apollo? I do not want to live anymore! I am but a mortal! I am not fit to live forever. Please, end this torment!
APOLLO
If you die, Cassandra, then surely I will follow.
CASSANDRA
Idiot! You claim love. You claim devotion. Yet where are you when I try to fulfill my hopes and dreams? Nowhere! Or worse, stymying me at every turn! Taunting me for trying to help this blasted earth. If you truly love me…then help me. Help me do what I can to prevent this from happening again.
APOLLO
You…mean this?
CASSANDRA
Yes. If you love me so, then prove it.
APOLLO
…I can’t.
CASSANDRA
What?
APOLLO
I cannot submit myself to these horrors again.
CASSANDRA
You…refuse? I can’t believe it.
APOLLO
Cassandra, listen to me. If you succeed, who is to say that this won’t just happen again? You can’t prevent every war that will be waged. That is madness!
CASSANDRA
You…coward! I should have known it. From the day you cursed me the first time, back in the days of Troy, I should have known that you were nothing but a coward. Only have the strength to toy with girls who don’t know what love is, is that it? You can taunt me with every waking moment, but you can’t stand up to other mortals?
APOLLO
Cassandra, it is impossible this thing you ask of me! You want to end war as a concept! That is not a doable thing for two to do, even if both are immortal.
CASSANDRA
It is my path. It is what I choose to do. It may be madness but it provides the only solace I have in life.
APOLLO
…I can’t walk that path with you, Cassandra. I…I am sorry.
CASSANDRA
I see. You disappoint me, Apollo. I had hoped that you were more than words, but I see that is simply not true. Then…I have nothing to do with you. Except…I do have a request.
APOLLO
You do? Name it.
CASSANDRA
Kill me.
APOLLO
What?
CASSANDRA
If you will not help me, then I want you to end my curse. It is the least you can do, and I will accept it as penance for the tragedy you have inflicted upon my life.
APOLLO
I…no! I will not do such a thing!
CASSANDRA
You cannot even do this for me?!
APOLLO
Cassandra, the tragedies I just witnessed…you want me to contribute to that? I will not do it.
CASSANDRA
Do not think of yourself as above those actions, Apollo. You are not. In fact, do not think of it as violence at all. Think of it as a kindness.
APOLLO
I am sorry once again, Cassandra. I cannot—will not—do it.
CASSANDRA
So you will not help me and you will not end me. Apparently, all you can do is torment me and nothing else!
APOLLO
Cassandra, if you’d just let me, I can make sure-
CASSANDRA
Enough, Apollo. Please. I will not go with you.
APOLLO
(Getting angry.) Do not act as if my presence has been a burden, Cassandra! I have only wanted to make you happy, yet you insist on trying to pursue your foolish desires! What fault is it of mine not to help you in a mad and futile task?
CASSANDRA
And you don’t act as if you didn’t curse me in the first place as a punishment! It has always been your intent to cause me pain, no matter what your silver tongue would have you say!
APOLLO
(Scoffing.) Believe what you would like, Cassandra.
CASSANDRA
I would say the same, Apollo.
APOLLO
It seems that we are at an impasse, then.
CASSANDRA
If you will not join me, and you will not kill me, then I will have nothing to do with you.
APOLLO
I will not leave you, Cassandra.
CASSANDRA
Then I will be rid of you.
APOLLO
And how do you propose that?
CASSANDRA
I haven’t figured it out yet. How do you always know where I am?
APOLLO
Why should I tell you?
CASSANDRA
Aren’t I your one and only love? The one that you bare your soul to? Is it my curse? When I tell the future you can sense it somehow?
APOLLO
No…
CASSANDRA
Then what? It must be something. You can’t simply know where I am at all times. Especially now that you have lost most of your power.
APOLLO
I could tell you, but…
CASSANDRA
But?
APOLLO
You wouldn’t like it.
CASSANDRA
I doubt that has stopped you before. (Silence.) Fine. At least tell me if I guess correctly, then?
APOLLO
Fine.
CASSANDRA
So…if it’s not when I see the future…(She looks to him for confirmation. He shakes his head “no.”)…then what could it be? You are always showing up the most inopportune times. Every time I need to air out my plans to someone, or when I least need someone there to tell me I’m wrong. You always show right when I want to try to do something dramatic. It’s almost as if… (She stops.) No.
APOLLO
Like I said. You wouldn’t like it.
CASSANDRA
You can’t tell when I’m going to see the future. You can tell when I’m going to change it. Please tell me I’m wrong.
APOLLO
I’m afraid you have it exactly.
CASSANDRA
Then…if I am to be rid of you…
APOLLO
Then you have to give up on your mad quest.
CASSANDRA
Even when you don’t mean to, you punish me. You rend me in two with your very existence, Apollo. You are truly a cruel and unforgiving god.
APOLLO
Cassandra, listen to reason-
CASSANDRA
I’ll do it.
APOLLO
What?
CASSANDRA
I’ll stop.
APOLLO
Then…you’ll come with me?
CASSANDRA
Oh, no. I will never do that. I’m going to stop, but on my own terms. If I cannot change the world, then I will do the only thing I can think of.
APOLLO
Which is…?
CASSANDRA
I’ll forget. I will make myself forget. There is no point in what I’m doing anyway, is there? I do nothing but fail. So I will make myself forget everything. My past will be erased, and I will start a new life.
APOLLO
You’ll forget everything?
CASSANDRA
Yes. Maybe, if I can forget the horrors I’ve experienced…maybe, for once…I can be happy.
APOLLO
I’ll find you, Cassandra. You will slip up eventually. You cannot repress your gift forever. And when you make a mistake…I will be there. Eventually…you will be mine. I swear it!
CASSANDRA
We shall see, Apollo.
(APOLLO leaves. For a moment, all is still, then CASSANDRA leaves in the opposite direction.)
(BLACKOUT)
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