Typhon
Typhon was the largest, meanest and most feared of all Greek beasts. Often called The Father of All Monsters, formidable representations of him have popped up throughout the ensuing millennia; from Dante to Klimt; from tales of Hercules to popular young adult fiction. This beast possessed such lovely attributes as multiple heads, dragon fingers, viper coils and wings. Not exactly the type to skate by on good looks, he destroyed cities, toppled empires and struck fear into the heart of every living thing — yet, throughout it all, he remained a devoted and loving husband to Echidna (creatively nicknamed the Mother of All Monsters) The only foe who ever defeated him properly was Zeus, and even he had to weather some gruesome defeats in order to best the colossal, merciless creature…
My take on the myth was born of comparisons drawn between the sheer unfathomable monstrosity of Typhon and another literary heavy, H.P. Lovecraft’s mighty Cthulhu. What I will do is lay out a grim and savagely dense narrative chronicling our protagonist’s quest for a missing page of the fabled Book of Typhon (standing in for Lovecraft’s Necronomicon) and all the hairy situations and cosmic terror he must wade through to satisfy his obsession the mythical destroyer. It will be a globetrotting, apocalyptic one act which will shake your faith in an orderly universe and cause you to second guess the motivations of everyone you ever met or loved.
TYPHON or THE BOOK OF TYPHON by Colin Johnson
Directed by Colin Johnson
Staged Reading on November 12, 2014
Juliana Egley (Dr. Amanda Niles)
Caitlin Evenson (Angel)
Matt Gunnison (Reese Bodwin)
Genevieve Perdue (Ensemble)
Scott Ragle (Ensemble)
Karl Schackne (Guard Phil)
Ignacio Zulueta (Sound Foley)
Colin is a writer, director and filmmaker who has been a Bay denizen since 2008. Locally you may have seen his work in Playground, SF Fringe, Theatre Pub, Bay One Acts Festival, Albany Film Fest, Image Comics, Actors Ensemble of Berkeley ( where he directed Noises Off and, more recently, the Woody Allen segment of Relatively Speaking) as well as various other unsavory quadrants in the greater Bay Area. He co-founded Oakland’s sketch comedy troupe BattleStache Studios and is terribly thrilled to return to the Olympians for his 4th go-around.
The image of the Typhon was created by Emily C. Martin! You can see more of her work here!