Chimera
The child of Echidna and Typhon, the Chimera was a tripartite monster, with a lion’s head and forequarters, a goat’s head sprouting from her back, and a tail ending in a snake’s head. The Chimera was said to be female, despite that it was frequently depicted with a flowing (male) lion’s mane, and for no other apparent reason. She was ultimately slain by the hero Bellerophon, riding Pegasus (so as to avoid the Chimera’s fiery breath). Throughout history, the word “Chimera” has generalized to such an extent that it now can often refer to any mythological beast comprised of different animal parts, or even just an implausibly constructed monster. The word has taken root in modern science, too. Genetic chimerism refers to an organism that has two (or more) genetically different cell populations. Though common in animals, it is rare (but not unheard of) in humans.
A patchwork play for a patchwork monster, Annie Paladino’s CHIMERA takes form as three distinct meditations on what it means to be female and to be piecemeal, what it means to be many things and not whole. Just as the mythological Chimera’s three heads do not fit well with each other, so too does this play not fit well together. In fact, it might completely fall apart. Or breathe fire in your face. CHIMERA is a collison between:
Before — As a result of a metaphysical clerical error, three nameless and formless entities meet. With no identities and no context, they struggle to define themselves and each other, using the only words they know: those of Western literature’s most loved (and hated) female characters.
Now — Her parts are not her own. Endlessly subdivided, she desperately tries to hold it all together. But how can she, when her esophagus is so judgmental, her left buttcheek can’t tell a lie, and her right eardrum has long since kicked the bucket? Not to mention her right hand’s clairvoyance…that bitch won’t let her forget what’s to come.
After — Kylie Chimera (TM), last year’s Tickle-Me-Elmo, is here to kick some ass and look fly doing so. She’s got three heads and a flair for the dramatic. But one of her heads isn’t holding up too well, so Kylie’s owner plans to send her back to the manufacturer to get a new one, throwing poor Kylie into a serious existential panic.
CHIMERA by Annie Paladino
Directed by Addie Ulrey
Staged Reading on November 14, 2014
Megan Cohen (Woman)
Angela Entzminger (C)
Mary Matabor (R)
Michele Owen (Kylie)
Sango Tajima (M)
Annie Paladino is a theater artist currently based in Seattle. She was an actor and director for the 2012 SF Olympians Festival and is stoked and terrified to be writing her first “real” play for the 2014 festival. She has recently joined Akropolis Performance Lab as an Artistic Associate, after Assistant Directing their critically acclaimed production of Uncle Vanya in Spring 2014. In Seattle, she has also worked with emerging company Blood Ensemble on two ensemble-devised plays (Barn Show - actor; and NDGM - dramaturg), and recently produced and performed a new version of her solo play DREAMA at the Pocket Theater (originally produced at the 2010 SF Fringe Festival). A recent transplant from San Francsico, Annie has collaborated in various capacities with the Cutting Ball Theater, FoolsFURY, Ragged Wing Ensemble, Inkblot Ensemble, San Francisco Theater Pub, and the San Francisco Olympians Festival, among others. Annie attended Wesleyan University (CT), where she was a double major in Theater and Psychology, earning a B.A. with High Honors (for her senior thesis work performing Beckett’s Happy Days). By day, she coordinates the Extended Day and Summer Programs at the Seattle Waldorf School. More at www.anniepaladino.com
The image of Chimera was created by Cody A. Rishell. You can see more of his work at here and here.