Feronia is associated with fertility, wildlife and the harvest. Her followers would offer the first fruits of the season in her honor to ensure a good harvest for the next year. She was celebrated as the goddess who granted men the power to domesticate wild animals and cultivate soil. Many of her followers were plebeians and freedmen, as she was also seen as a goddess who granted freedom to slaves.
O’Connor’s play is centered on modern-day Feronia worshipers who want to go back to simpler times. O’Connor says, “I’m pretty sure if Feronia were to find a cult in her honor, in this age of technology and science, she’d be like ‘Ummm, why?'”
FERONIA by Meghan Kathleen O’Connor
Directed by Allison Page
Staged Reading on October 19, 2017 at the EXIT Theatre
Ron Chapman (Stage Directions)
Elaine Gavin (Feronia)
Christine Hong (Olive)
Nicole Odell (Justine)
Cassie Rosenbrock (Krista)
Meghan Kathleen O’Connor is a playwright, copywriter, and sketch writer based in San Francisco. She is very excited to return to the Olympians Festival as a writer for the fourth time - this festival is her home away from home. Her work has also been produced by Killing My Lobster, Fool’sFury FURYFactory, and Playground. Meghan is currently the Literary Director for PianoFight’s Pint Sized Plays (formerly a San Francisco Theater Pub production), and is a proud participant and winner of Shipwreck, the erotic fan fiction competition held in the back of a bookstore. You can also see Meghan perform the first Friday of every month at PianoFight with her improv team Chinese Ballroom.
The image of Feronia was created by Cody A. Rishell.