The Theater Arts Department and DANM (Digital Arts & New Media) invite audiences to a collaborative adaptation of the ancient Greek epic in an experiential, multi-venue presentation directing by professor of theater arts Kimberly Jannarone. For mature audiences. Contains nudity, adult language, fog/haze effects, and simulated live gunfire. (Please also note important admission details below.*)
Homer's The Odyssey began as an oral narrative, sung by a bard to a friendly assembly, a musical story told to strengthen shared communal bonds and inscribe history into memory. Our artistic team honors this tradition by created a living series of performance "islands" (tableaux vivants, installations) to answer the project's core questions: What does it mean to be a hero? How do we define the rules of society and how do we view those of societies different than ours? How do we interact with different cultures, and what are the roles of women, heroes, and "others" in our contemporary world? The Odyssey entwines in its storytelling its culture's history, nostalgia, fears, aspirations, violence, and moral values. Our project looks at how these issues still charge today's art and literature.
Part 1: The play begins in a transformed space inside the Mainstage Theater, launching Odysseus’ 10-year journey at sea. Part 2: We move to the Digital Arts Resource Center (DARC) and adjoining spaces, where spectators will be tempted to listen to the Sirens, risk their lives with Circe, and linger with the Lotus Eaters. Part 3: The event concludes in the Dark Lab black box theater, where we find Odysseus returned home but forever changed.
The production combines students and professionals, including Theater Arts MA students, Digital Arts and New Media MFA students, UCSC undergraduates, and artists including actor Danny Scheie, actress Nancy Carlin, set designer Kate Edmunds, and three Arts alumni designers: composer Eric Parson (Music), costume designer Christina Dinkel (Theater Arts), and choreographer Dor Cosby Atkinson (Theater Arts). Collaboratively adapted from Homer. Directed by Kimberly Jannarone.
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Friday–Sunday, November 11–13 and
Thursday–Sunday, November 17–20
Thu, Fri, Sat at 7:30PM
Sun at 3:00PM
*Important notes for audiences:
1. Please take your seat *at least* 20 minutes before curtain to guarantee your seat. Theater doors open 30-minutes prior to start time. (Ticket window opens 1 hour before start time.)
2. Seats not claimed by ticketed guests 10 minutes before curtain will be forfeited and offered to guests in the stand-by line. No exceptions.
3. There will be NO late seating.
4. Patron agrees at time of purchase that no refund will be given for seat forfeiture as a result of late arrival.
5. Events will take place in multiple venues at the UCSC Theater Arts Center and the Digital Arts Research Center. Audiences will be led on a short walk from one venue to the next. Patrons with DMV placards may drive between the venues and re-park.
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Tickets $12-$15. On sale here.
Create an account at UCSCtickets.com to purchase in advance. Print tickets at home or send to your mobile device.
Parking $4