Pegasus
Pegasus is an immortal winged horse – but you probably already knew that. If you haven’t seen him flying onscreen before a TriStar Pictures production, you might recognize him from the Mobil logo or at least remember his name from the Nike shoe line. He was a symbol of wisdom during the Middle Ages, a symbol of poetry during the Renaissance, and a symbol of spiritual energy for Carl Jung; so as Greek monsters go, he’s pretty popular with us mortals.
Pegasus plays a supporting role in a host of different stories. He was Bellerophon’s mount in the fight against both the Chimera and the Amazons and (depending on whom you ask) helped Perseus in his battle against Cetus, the sea monster. Zeus put Pegasus to work carrying his lighting bolts and both Eos and Apollo enlisted Pegasus in carrying the sun across the sky. Zeus honored Pegasus for all of his deeds by making him a constellation, where his arrival heralds the coming of the spring.
About his play Pegasus: The Movie (The Play), Kirk Shimano writes: My play is as much about the myth-makers as it is about the myth. It follows the exploits of a small movie visual effects studio that has been tasked with creating an all-digital computer graphics Pegasus in a single day’s time. They’ll be praying to the muses for any hint of inspiration as they try to compress a month long process into a fraction of the time. Along the way, they’ll grapple with the question of whether the storymakers of today have any hope of contributing to the mythology of tomorrow and whether the sacrifices we make for art are ever fully repaid.
PEGASUS or PEGASUS: THE MOVIE (THE PLAY) by Kirk Shimano
Directed by Sam Tillis
Staged Reading November 7, 2014
Allison Fenner (Kate)
Frankie G (Stan)
Shelley Lynn Johnson (Bertha)
Heather Kellogg (Emma)
Gabriel Kenney (Pegasus)
Carlos Mendoza (Jeffrey)
Paul Rodrigues (Geoff)
This is Kirk Shimano’s fourth year contributing to the Olympians festival but his first time contributing a full length play. In addition to writing about whales, swans, computers and drag queens, he has also created the official San Francisco Olympians app. Kirk’s writing has been produced by San Francisco Theater Pub, Wily West Productions, PianoFight and PlayGround. He is a member of the Asian American Theater Company’s New Work Incubator. Kirk has spent the last decade working in the visual effects industry. His choice of subject matter for this play is not a coincidence.
The image of Pegasus was created by Liz Conley!