Pontos
Before Poseidon or Oceanus there was ancient Pontos. Those who think of Gaia as ‘mother earth’ may think of Pontos as ‘father sea.’ With Gaia, Pontos sired Nereus, Phorkys, Keto, Thaumas and Eurybia. Pontos also fathered the creatures and animals of the sea. He is referenced in Hesiod’s Theogony and Aeschylus’ play Prometheus Bound, but does not appear in many other myths besides as a reference to fathering deities or being the sea itself. In the few depictions found of him, he is a large head emerging from the waters. He has a large grey beard and crab-claw horns coming out of his head. You know, the usual.
O’Connor’s script is centered around Andrea, a fledgling environmental activist trying to rally troops to help fight global warming and the rising sea levels. While on the beach, she is caught in a riptide and taken under. It is there that she meets Pontos. He informs Andrea that the kingdom of land-dwellers is coming to an end. Soon the sea and it’s inhabitants will rule again, and Andrea has inherited a seat at the underwater throne as the last true descendant of Tethys. Will Andrea protect the land she’s called home since birth, or will she succumb to the thrill of power?
PONTOS by Meghan Kathleen O’Connor
Directed by Ellery Schaar
Staged Reading on November 21, 2015
Meghan Kathleen O’Connor is a playwright, singer, and comedienne in the Bay Area. Meg is an Artistic Director for SF Theater Pub, a member of Berkeley’s playwriting incubator Playground, and her sketch comedy is featured in Killing My Lobster’s podcast The Alphabet. Her improv team Chinese Ballroom has performed in San Francisco since 2009, most recently with SF SketchFest. Her plays include: The Shield; The Helmet (Trojan Requiem, 2013); In the Wings (Behind the Curtain Festival, 2013); In the Deep (Titans vs. Olympians, 2012 - evening’s winner); Satellites, collaboratively written by Inkblot Ensemble (Fool’s Fury FURYFactory, 2011); All’s Fair, co-written by Jess Thomas (Inkblot Ensemble, 2009); Shakespeare in Therapy (University College Dublin Drama Society, 2005). She received her BA in Creative Writing and a minor in music from the University of San Francisco. She is very excited to be returning to the San Francisco Olympians Festival for the fifth time. Learn more about Meg at www.thesingingwriter.com.