Charybdis
Charybdis represents that old morality tale where a gal gets hungry, eats too much, and then is transformed into a monster. And not even Ursula the sea witch would be her friend. Disney aside, Charybdis is mainly known as a either a dangerous and destructive whirlpool who could overtake a ship or as a sea monster. One myth sets her as the daughter of Poseidon and Gaia. One day, she feels so ravenous that she takes cattle from Hercules in hope that it’ll make her tummy stop growling so much. Unfortunately though, Zeus is so angry that he then banishes her to the sea. Where she’s left to live as a monster.
Of her play about Charybdis, Ashley Cowan writes, “It was hard to resist wanting to be in an evening called “Vagina Dentata”. But when I started researching Charybdis, I was struck by the idea of someone being punished for their appetite. A female someone. I could lie and say I’ve never battled with body issues of my own but that would be a boring bold faced lie. So my hope is to channel some of that vulnerability that comes from battling insecurities and fighting food demons of my own. And that’s probably a good place to start when it comes to diving into a play, right? My story will center around a woman struggling through her first Overeaters Anonymous meeting. Apparently her appetite has become a “problem” in her circle. To her horror, she’ll be forced to talk to people from her past who are anything but anonymous without the promise of a single snack to hide under. What’s really going on beneath that voracious ravenousness? Well, this short will offer one side of the story.”
CHARYBDIS by Ashley Cowan
Directed by Melinda Marks
Staged Reading on November 22, 2014
Tonya Narvaez (Charlene)
Allison Page (Marjorie)
Adam Magill (Scott)
Ashley Cowan is originally from Avon, CT and went to school at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. After graduating, she moved to New York City to become a starving artist before moving to San Francisco as a moderately hungry artist where she’s been acting, writing, teaching, and enjoying burritos ever since. She’s had the privilege of working with such Bay Area theater companies including: Atmos Theatre, San Francisco Olympians Festival, Custom Made Theatre, Piano Fight, No Nude Men, Un-Scripted, Young Performers Theatre, and Theater Pub. Ashley is thrilled to be returning to Olympus for the fourth year as a writer. If you can’t live without her witty ways until November, you can keep up with her biweekly Theater Pub column “Cowan Palace” or read more of her thoughts and enjoy one too many pictures of her dog by following her on Twitter at: twitter.com/AshCows.