Neptune! Roman God of the Sea! Violent and tempestuous! Unpredictable! Instigator of hurricanes and earthquakes! Or…not? Depends who you ask. (Or what you read.) For example, just because a god is depicted as being pulled by horses over the sea, doesn’t mean he’s the god of horses, horseracing, or even the sea for that matter.
Like many Roman gods that were adapted from the Greeks, the mythology around the god is itself fluid. Neptune’s mythology was adapted to reflect Roman values. So while he is similar to the Greek god, Poseidon, they are not the same. Neptune began as a minor god and was most likely a god of freshwater, streams and rivers, before being associated with the sea. Once Neptune came to be identified with Poseidon did he then gain in status and mythology. Neptune was perhaps seen as more militaristic and war like than his Greek counterpart.
Neptune is the son of Ops and Saturn. He is the brother of Jupiter and Pluto.
The general story goes that once that Neptune and his brothers Jupiter and Pluto, usurped their father, Saturn, of his position, they divided the universe into three realms: Jupiter ruled the sky, Pluto became God of the underworld, and Neptune, the sea. (Sound familiar?)
Elizabeth’s play, NEPTUNE or MY THREE SONS, takes place on the eve of the reading of a father’s will. Neptune is the middle child, perhaps the one with the “issues”, and not quite as successful as Jupiter, the big shot politician, or Pluto, the Hollywood superstar.
Neptune has returned to take his place amongst his brothers, who rather he’d stayed put on some island off the coast of Florida. Elizabeth hopes to dive into the questions surrounding what happens when we try and live up to (or live down) a reputation that may (or may not) be justified?
NEPTUNE or MY THREE SONS by Elizabeth Flanagan
Directed by Sophia Mia Dipaola
Staged Reading October 18, 2018 at the EXIT Theatre
Lorenz Angelo Gonzales (Pluto)
Dillon Siedentopf (Neptune)
Jacob Soss (Jupiter)
This is Elizabeth’s third time writing for the festival. Her first Olympians play took place in the underworld, Camp Hades to be exact and her second in a comic book multi-verse. NEPTUNE may be the most realistic play yet. Elizabeth is a resident playwright of 3Girls Theatre and a member of the SF PlayGround writer’s pool. She is a cofounder of Ex Nihilo Theater and previously served on the board of the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco. Elizabeth’s plays have been produced by: San Francisco Theater Pub, All Terrain Theater, Awesome Theatre, Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco, and Wily West Productions. You can follow Elizabeth on twitter @writesinpublic.
The image of Neptune was created by Christopher Bauman.