The Odyssey on Angel Island State Park, 2012
“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story”
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We Players facilitated an intimate experience of Angel Island and its diverse histories through this all-day, island-wide performance adventure. Carefully crafted staging, interactive installations, and diverse pathways through the space made this performance a provocative and truly memorable experience. Equipped with a map, time card, and survival ‘kit bag‘ the audience walked for miles, encountering monsters, nymphs, gods and mortals, as they journeyed to the Kingdom of the Dead, climbed Mount Olympus, and returned to their native land at last. Feasts, libations, storms, and five star views across the bay made this a journey to remember.
The Odyssey on Angel Island State Park
By Homer
Adapted by Ava Roy from Robert Fagels' translation
Director: Ava Roy
Spring 2012
Angel Island State Park, San Francisco Bay
+ The Buzz
San Francisco Bay Guardian, Thursday May 17, 2012
Lily Janiak, The Odyssey on Angel Island Provides an Odyssey of Its Own, SF Weekly, Thursday May 17, 2012
Sam Hurwitt, A truly epic 'Odyssey' all over Angel Island, Marin Independent Journal, Thursday May 17, 2012
Leslie Katz, ‘Odyssey’ gives audience real Angel Island journey, San Francisco Examiner, Wednesday May 17, 2012
Chad Jones, 'The Odyssey on Angel Island State Park' review, San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday May 15, 2012
Broadway World, April 25, 2012
Select Quotes from Didaskalia, online journal for ancient performance
Like the rest of We Players’ efforts, the Odyssey on Angel Island was a remarkable, one-of-a-kind production carefully crafted around a specific, culturally important space.
The directorial execution of this perambulatory production was nearly flawless… The OAI managed a beautiful marriage of location and story.
We Players’ participatory brand of theater came as close as possible, within a performance mode which one could easily recognize as theater, to the imaginary experience afforded by listening to the Homeric bard…. we (the audience) floated like spectral observers, immersed in the fantasy.
On account of the time commitment demanded from the audience as well as a location with substantial local history and significance, the OAI managed to capture much of the festival nature of Attic tragedy in a natural and unobtrusive way.
Making use of Angel Island’s picturesque architectural remains and fraught but important history, the production blended theater with forensics, re-enactment with archaeology…. it was a worthy inheritor of a theatrical tradition forged in fifth-century Athens, but was very much present and alive in the San Francisco Bay.
(from the journal article by Al Duncan)
+ The Cast
Athena & Circe: Julie Douglas
Amphiminous: Joan Howard
Melanthius, Aeolus, & Zeus: Nathaniel Justiniano
Penelope & Siren: Libby Kelly
Mentor & Tiresias: Michael Moerman
Calypso: Caroline Parsons
Antinous & Eurylochus: Claire Slattery
Eurymachus & Hermes: Ross Travis
Phemius: Ryan Beebe & Joshua Cook
Telemachus: James Udom
Ensemble: Julie Douglas, Joan Howard, Nathaniel Justiniano, Freida de Lackner, Maria Leigh, Rebecca Longworth, Caroline Parsons, Claire Slattery, Ross Travis
The Musicians
Guitar & Vocals: Ryan Beebe & Joshua Cook
Violin & Harp: Danielle Bricker
Trumpet: Danny Cao
Percussion: Nick Fishman
Trumpet & Trombone: Henry Hung
Saxophone & Fute: Teddy Raven
Bass: Adam Gay, Josh Tower, Rob Woodcock
+ The Production Team
Director: Ava Roy
Producers: Lauren D. Chavez & Ava Roy
Costume Designer: Mariangel Roca
Musical Director: Charlie Gurke
Production Manager: Joan Scout
Site Manager: David Mairs
Stage Manager: Eileen Tull
House Manager: Lauren Matley
Production Assistants: Hannah Gaff, Ruth Tringham
Properties & Set Artisans: Joan Scout, Bailey Smith, Ava Roy
Wardrobe Assistant: Megan Hillard
Photographers: Mark Kitaoka & Tracy Martin
Poster & Postcard Graphic Design: James Tucker
Program Design: James Tucker & Lauren D. Chavez