SF Olympians

The Lampades, or Nymphae Avernales (Underworld Nymphs) are the most mysterious of the Greek nymphs. Whereas nymphs such as the lineage of Nereids and Dryads is known within the mythology, there is no definitive parental tie for the Lampades, though they are often affiliated with Hekate, the goddess of witchcraft, the night, moons, ghosts and necromancy. It has been said that they were a gift by Zeus to her following the Titanomachy. They are mentioned within Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and the most famous of them is Gorgyra (sometimes Orphne), who bore Ascalaphus by Acheron, who told the other gods that Persephone had eaten a pomegranate from the Underworld, and was transformed by Demeter into a screech owl. They are most recognizable for the lamps that they carry with them, though it is said that if a mortal were to ever look into one of them, the light would drive them mad.

“With my play,” writes Sam Bertken, “inspired by the dark origins of the Lampades, I sought to draw connections between Greek mythology and English folklore, comparing the Lampad with the Will-o-wisp, or ignus fatuus. With the tale of mere mortals powerless against the godlike might of the maddening will-o-wisp, this short play will, over the course of twenty minutes, unease, will terrify and will horrify in the style of masters of the form whom I admire. With the play itself, I also sought to break traditional boundaries of the theater in terms of staging and audience participation, to heighten the sense of involvement, and the aura of fear.”

LAMPADES or LAMP RITUAL by SAM BERTKEN
Directed by Scott Baker
Staged Reading on November 5, 2014

Colleen Egan (Lamp 2)

J Jha (Stage Directions)

Nick Trengove (Lamp 3)

Richard Wenzel (Lamp 1)

Sam Bertken is a San Francisco native, an actor and a writer making his SF Olympians debut. Following his return from the scenic tundra of Michigan, he made his debut in San Francisco with the much-lauded SF Theatre Pub production of The Taming of the Shrew, directed by festival founder Stuart Bousel. He then continued to make a name for himself as an intensely physical performer in the critically polarizing You’re Going to Bleed as part of the Exit Theater’s DIVAFest, in the award-winning adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So Stories”, O Best Beloved and as the titular boy who would never grow up in The Custom Made Theatre Co.’s Peter/Wendy, directed by Jeremy Bloom. In that time, he has also appeared in the Peninsula with Dragon Theater as Chris in Becky’s New Car, has served as a company member of the no-holds-barred satire-generating and 2012 Best of Fringe award-winning Naked Empire Bouffon Company, and performed in an as-yet-unfulfilled transmedia production, 13 Pennies, the brainchild of fellow Olympian Megan Cohen. 2013 was a good year. Upcoming projects include assistant directing with Claire Rice the chaotic new play Hilarity by Allison Page, continuing to intern for the San Francisco Neo-Futurists in various capacities and as-frequent-as-possible contributions to SF Theatre Pub’s Saturday Write Fever.

The image of the Lampedes was created by Cody A. Rishell. You can see more of his work at here and here.