Utah Valley University October 13 – November 5, 2011

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Eurydice

Dramaturg: Wendy Gourley 210 S. Alpine Dr. Alpine, UT 84004 (801) 492-3553 [email protected]

Nominator: Dr. Lisa Hall Hagen 800 W. University Parkway, MS 234 Orem, UT 84058-5999 (801) 863-6272 [email protected]

Table of Contents

Introduction 2 The Call – Choosing the Project 3 Crossing the Threshold - Research 5 The Belly of the Beast - Rehearsal 45 The Boon - Outreach 52 The Return – Production and Beyond 64

Topical Index

Letters of Recommendation Lisa Hagen, director 78 Dr. John Newman, Director of Noorda Theatre 56 Kathryn McPherson, UVU English Professor 63 Susan Griffith, audience member 74 Research Major Treatments of Orpheus and Eurydice 21 Eurydice Production History 30 Comparative Myths 35

Analysis Why This Play Now? 36 Play Analysis 37 Character Analysis 40 Sermons in Stones 7 Prelude to a Stone: The Grandmother Character 11 The Gaze: Of Seeing and Being Seen 13 Modern-day Myths 15 Educational Outreach The Dear Eurydice Blog 6 Learning Stages 52 Classroom Outreach Visits 58 Lobby Display 64 Program Note 69 The Dear Eurydice Project 70 Review 76

TableIntroduction of Contents

“It was – mysterious.” Eurydice First Movement, Scene 7

Entering into the world of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice was mysterious – and taking on the new role of dramaturg was even more mysterious. I found myself on what seemed like my own epic journey; a personal participant in the monomyth, looking for the ultimate boon or gift and trying to bring it back to share with others. I felt a silent partner with Eurydice; traveling by her side down that dark and unsure path – hoping it would lead to enlightenment.

In keeping with the mythological roots of Eurydice and my own journey I will relate my experiences in story. I have chronicled my journey as Eurydice’s dramaturg in five monomyth terms:

The Call – where someone or something calls the hero to a journey. This is my choosing of the play, my reasons behind it, and what I hoped to achieve.

Crossing the Threshold – the moment the hero leaves her comfortable and familiar surroundings and begins her journey into the unknown; where she encounters this new world for the first time. This section will recount my research phase.

The Belly of the Beast – the moment when the hero must face her darkest fears and be willing to give the ultimate sacrifice if necessary. My story now enters the rehearsal phase where I begin to apply my research into practice and the ups and down of that process.

The Boon – the ultimate gift; it could be a talisman or piece of deep knowledge; it is the reason for the hero’s journey. This section covers my outreach leading up to opening night and things it taught me.

The Return – when the hero brings the boon back to her world and shares it with her community. We end my story with the production and the ways in which I shared what I learned with the audience.

The Call

“So would you like to accompany me to this interesting affair?” Eurydice First Movement, Scene 3

One dark and stormy night, Wen sat by the fire. She was an unassuming creature, studious and apt to ponder the complexities of life. All of the sudden, there was a knock at the door and the village witch appeared.

“I have come to send you on a wondrous journey – one in which you will scale the highest heights and plumb the deepest depths; a journey of…. Dramaturgy,” she said with effect.

“Nay,” said Wen, “I will stay by the fire and knit, for I am near to graduation and wish to be a writer of plays. Dramaturgy sounds a dodgy business.”

Wen began to hum to her cat, but the witch was undeterred.

“Dramaturgy will teach you secrets that will unlock many doors to an aspiring playwright,” the witch replied mysteriously.

It was true Wen was a bit long in the tooth, but this remark lit an unmistakable spark in her eye for she had an irresistible yearning for secrets.

“Will I be home by tea time?” Wen inquired.

The witch fixed her steely gaze upon Wen and said,

“Not if I can help it.”

Choosing the Project

Eurydice has been a fulfilling and challenging project. Last spring, I took a three week workshop with Professor Lisa Hall Hagen and was offered the opportunity to be the dramaturg for one of the university’s upcoming shows. The choice of play was important to me as I was a senior with only one semester left. I knew this would be my only chance to learn the ropes as a dramaturg. I loved what I had learned about dramaturgy thus far and as a writer and a researcher, I felt it was an area for which I was well suited. I wanted to learn as much as I could in the little time I had left at school.

I chose Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice for three main reasons: First of all, Lisa Hagen was the assigned director and as she was my dramaturgy teacher, I knew she would push me and guide me through the process. Another major reason I was drawn to Eurydice, was its roots in mythology. I have worked for years as a performance storyteller and have

developed a great love of mythology. I was looking forward to digging into the rich symbolism and layers of meaning found in the play. The last reason was more practical. The timing of the production worked well for my schedule and gave me the whole summer to research, write and develop my materials. I would not have been able to revel in this project as much as I did had I been in the middle of a full semester schedule. What is Dramaturgy?

First I had to figure out my philosophy of dramaturgy. What was it that I loved so much? Where should my focus be? I decided, for me, dramaturgy is about connection. I felt it was my job to create as many intersections with the play as I could to connect the cast, crew and audience to this complex and compelling piece of theatre. There were many times when I made decisions based on this philosophy, such as choosing different writing styles for different audiences. I felt it was paramount to make the materials and information as accessible as possible. I also felt it wasn’t important for me to find concrete answers per se, but to find possibilities of meaning.

The connection had to start with me. I needed to explore the text, the world it creates, and the history that brought it here. I needed to enter the enigmatic and mysterious world of the story.

Crossing The Threshold

“The station is like a train, but there is no train. The train has wheels that are not wheels. There is the opposite of smoke and the opposite of a train.” Eurydice Second Movement, Scene 1

So armed with the tools of Dramaturgy obtained from the witch; Wen descended into the murky abyss. Nothing was as it seemed. There were rooms made of string and stones that talked. Wen was perplexed and muddled – well, Wen was often muddled, so that was nothing new.

But floating on the swirling mist, the voice of the Witch reminded Wen,

“Follow the signs.”

Researching the Text

I started with the text. I admit, after my first reading I thought, “hmmm…” I liked the whimsy and was intrigued by the symbolism, but I was a little let down by the ending and didn’t feel as if I understood it very well.

I decided to focus my attention on the symbols. In my own writing, I love the use of symbolism and have made quite a study of it in regards to myths and folktales. I reread the script again, this time looking for symbols and marking as I went. I created little signs for each reoccurring symbol, such as water or remembering and forgetting.

The Dear Eurydice Blog

The next thing I did was set up a blog. I wanted a place to gather my discoveries; where people could easily come and interact with the material. I chose settings that sent each post to the cast and crew’s email inbox and I also posted to Facebook to generate interest with our potential audience members.

Again, I came back to the idea of connection. How should I present the information in a way that people will read it? Although I would eventually include many of the posts in my director’s packet, I knew they had to be less academically rigorous than Dr. Hall would normally prefer. I tried to keep the post short and used pictures to keep the interest of the audience. I tried to write about a variety of subjects and look at the play from as many viewpoints as I could.

In keeping with the idea of letters in the play, I called the blog Dear Eurydice. It was where I sent my “letters” – my posts from my journey back to the cast and crew. It was where I reached out to our potential audience trying to intrigue them and draw them into the world we were creating. Here is the link to the blog, followed by other links to specific pages:

www.deareurydice.blogspot.com

In addition to posting my analysis and explorations on the play, I created a Dear Eurydice Music page where, by request of the director, the cast submitted songs that connected them to the play and their characters; a Dear Eurydice Stories page where I collected comparative myths and folktales on death themes; and a page for The Dear Eurydice Project (see page 70 for a full description of the Dear Eurydice Project.)

I also posted cast interviews and various bits of research requested by the director. Dr. Hagen especially wanted me to focus on the myths of the 1950’s as that was the setting of the play. Two of the things she requested was iconic film clips from the 40’s and 50’s and footage showing the jitterbug. Here are two examples of clips I posted:

Dramatic Film Goodbyes Calling all Hepcats!

Blog Posts

Here are five examples of my analysis posts which looked at symbols, themes and history of the play:

Sermons in Stones

“Find tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” Shakespeare, As You Like It

One of the most interesting elements of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice is the Stone Characters. In the underworld there are three Stones and although they interact with Eurydice, they seem more set then spook. In this post, we’ll discuss the significance of stone symbolism and how it might apply to Eurydice. In the next post, we’ll discuss the director’s concept for these three characters.

Rocks are significant just because they are so old. They have been a long-standing symbol of permanence and strength. The symbolism of stone is a part of most major world religions.

The Ka'aba

Islam’s most holy site is Mecca. All pious Muslims should visit Mecca to circle the Ka’aba, which includes the Black Stone, seven times. The Black Stone is said to be a stone sent down from God to Adam and Eve. In Jerusalem, another important site is the Dome of the Rock, which holds a rock that marks the spot where the Prophet Mohammed rose into heaven.1

1 Peters, F.E. Mecca: A Literary History of the Muslim Holy Land. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994. Print.

All good Christian children are taught to build their house upon the rock.

In Christianity, Christ is often referred to as the rock and his right hand man, Peter, was also known as the rock. The importance of strong foundations, cornerstones and keystones are found throughout Christian scripture, where we learn that Christ is the foundation stone.

A tribute to Scrooge?

In early Biblical scripture, the basis for many religions, we see many examples of building the most sacred of edifices, alters and temples, out of stone. The prophet Samuel erected the stone Eben-Ezer or ‘Stone of Help’ to commemorate the Lord’s assistance in beating the Philistines at Mizpah.2 In the popular hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” I used to be confused by the second verse where it says, “Here I raise my Ebenezer.” It always made me think of The Christmas Carol or someone raising their husband from the dead, but it’s just a reference to Samuel’s stone monument to God.

God’s law was often carved in stone.

2 The Holy Bible. I Samuel 7:2-14. Print.

Stonehenge

In Pagan rituals, stones often play important roles, such as at Stonehenge. Was it an ancient calendar erected to celebrate the seasons or powerful healing circle? No one knows for sure. Many new age practitioners believe rocks are batteries containing the power of Mother Earth and that if we connect with them, we can access that power.

There is a beautiful Jewish tradition of putting stones on graves instead of flowers. In ancient times, shepherds would keep track of their sheep by placing the same number of pebbles in their sling as sheep they took to the pasture that day. It was an accounting; a remembering. Placing a stone on a grave is like asking God to keep the loved one in His sling; to account for them; to remember them. Flowers are like life; they are here and then they are gone. Stones are like memory. “While other things fade, stones and souls endure.”3

3 Wolpe, Rabbi David. “The Symbol of the Stone” www.beliefnet.com.

We pile rocks as a memorial or on a path to remember.

Stones are intriguing symbols because they can stand for both memory and forgetting. They are like ancient witnesses soaking in not only the history of the world, but its wisdom. The Seneca have a myth about how stories came into the world. In short, a native boy learns all the world’s stories from an ancient stone deep in the forest. He then shares the stories with his people becoming the world’s first storyteller.

But stones also symbolize forgetting. “Stone-cold heart” is a heart that has forgotten how to love. A “Stone-faced liar” is someone who has forgotten the truth. We use stone imagery to describe someone who is stubborn or shut down, things that seem dead to us, or people who have forgotten how to live.

As you read or view Ruhl’s Eurydice, keep both of these meanings in your mind. Ruhl constantly plays with the lines between memory and forgetting and of these two, the stones are most definitely on the forgetting, shut down, dead side of things; however, can you also find anything of memory? Of energy? Of wisdom?

Prelude to a Stone: The Grandmother Character

An earlier draft of Eurydice4 had two additional characters, both played by the same actress: Eurydice’s Grandmother (The Father’s Mother) and Old Woman (The Voracious Mother of the Child.) The Grandmother wanders around the Underworld and no one really notices. She seems to represent the blissfulness of complete forgetfulness.

Here’s what Ruhl said about the Grandmother character:

The idea of memory as something that can be washed away and painfully retrieved is a compelling idea in Eurydice. Would you address the final moments of the play when we see Eurydice’s grandmother, another occupant of the underworld who has experienced erasure of memory?

I was looking for metaphysical layering, so that we would see someone who has completely lost her memory. The grandmother takes walks across the stage that are like little silent plays unto themselves and can be really specific. Some actors would balk at not having her encoded in language, not having a certain amount of lines. But having the grandmother make that last cross gives the play emotional balance. It’s not as tidy or as Greek as the tragedy would be if we just saw Orpheus coming down and the triangle between Orpheus, Eurydice, and the father. It’s larger, it’s continual—life does go on. The grandmother becomes an emblem of memory loss as sort of a happy thing. I’ve seen some people lose their memory who have been quite happy in the void they’re moving into, but for other people who are aware of it, it’s so horrible and tragic and painful. For Eurydice and her father the pain comes out of their consciousness of memories, but the grandmother is less conscious of what’s slipping away. She’s more peaceful, which for me makes her less ambivalently hopeful.5

4 Ruhl, Sarah. “Eurydice.” Theatre. Volume 34, Number 2, Summer 2004, pp. 36-67. Duke University Press 5 Ruhl, Sarah and Wendy Weckwerth. “More Invisible Terrains.” Theatre. 34. 2 (2004): 28-35. Print.

Director’s Concept Photo for the Old Crone Stone

The Grandmother character is now gone, but she seems to be the forerunner to the old crone stone as conceived by director Lisa Hall-Hagan. She is someone who has been around the underworld the longest and who most represents the idea of peace and forgetting.

The Gaze: Of Seeing and Being Seen

Orpheus gazes at Eurydice The Gaze – it’s the climactic moment – when Orpheus turns and looks at Eurydice and seals her fate forever. Why did he turn? Could he not wait one more moment to see her? Feeling the sun on his own face, did he not realize that she was not out yet? Was it ambivalence or a change of heart? One thing’s for certain, all the power of Eurydice’s fate rested in Orpheus’ gaze. There are many ways of analyzing myths, but one of the messages in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is of gender roles and how we see each other. Ruhl said about Eurydice, “Rarely does anyone look at Eurydice’s experience. I always found that troubling – she’s the one who dies and takes a journey before Orpheus, but we don’t really see her experience… I’m interested in her voice, a voice that hasn’t been heard before.”6 Ruhl set out to change Eurydice from an “object” – the object of Orpheus’ gaze and even his love – to an active “subject” – someone who is actively deciding her own fate. In all the older versions of the story (written by men, I might add) Eurydice is little more a victim. She is usually mute. She is always seen, but is never the see-er.7 How do we see each other? There is the feminist claim that our society is skewed for men to do the looking and the women to be seen. I think Ruhl’s Eurydice gives us food for thought on this topic.

6 Schmidt, Heidi. Ruhl’s Women. Thesis. May 2010. Web. 7 Bruzelius, Margaret. “HD and Eurydice” Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 44, No. 4, (Winter 1998) p 447-463 Hofstra University

Let’s look at the final “Gaze” moment in the script. Orpheus is walking out of the Underworld, not looking back. Eurydice has just said goodbye to her father and is conflicted about leaving him. The stage directions read:

Orpheus walks slowly, in a straight line, with the focus of a tight-rope walker. Eurydice moves to follow him. She follows him, several steps behind. THEY WALK. Eurydice follows him with precision, one step for every step he takes. She makes a decision. She increases her pace. She takes two steps for every step Orpheus takes. She catches up to him.

Eurydice. Orpheus?

HE TURNS TOWARD HER, STARTLED. ORHEUS LOOKS AT EURYDICE. EURYDICE LOOKS AT ORPHEUS. THE WORLD FALLS AWAY.8

Eurydice gazes at Orpheus Ruhl has given all the power of decision into Eurydice’s hands. “She makes a decision” is a key moment, after which she hurries to catch up with him and startles him into looking. She looks back. His look was involuntary, hers was not.9 Will you agree with her choice? You’ll have to come and see the play to determine that. But agree or not, Eurydice did the looking this time around. Her fate was in her own hands.

8 Ruhl, Sarah. Eurydice. New York: Samuel French, 2008. Print. 9 Schmidt, Heidi. Ruhl’s Women. Thesis. May 2010. Web.

Modern-day Myths in Eurydice The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is not the only myth Sarah Ruhl tackles in Eurydice; she also takes on some modern-day myths. I believe that the 1950’s setting of the script is very significant. There is a definite look at gender roles in Eurydice and what better decade to revel in gender myths than the 50’s. Let’s look at some advertisements from that period to see what kind of modern-day myths we find:

Smoking is not that bad for you, in fact, it is doctor endorsed.

DDT makes for happy, healthy people, animals and veggies.

If you want to be a good parent, give your baby a healthy start with soda. Now let’s look specifically at ads about women:

Women should be a domestic angel by day…

…and alluring sex goddess by night.

Women are overly emotional, not to mention incompetent.

Women are weak.

Women are (and I quote) “useful – even pleasant [indoors, but] on a mountain they are something of a drag.”

Women are happiest when housekeeping.

Never mind that Mornidine, a morning sickness medicine, caused babies to be born without arms and legs; at least Father didn’t have to struggle with the percolator.

I think these ads speak for themselves. Isn’t it nice we’ve come so far…

…or have we? (a contemporary ad for Gucci)

Ruhl is speaking to these issues that still shape our society. By giving Eurydice a voice and a choice (two things she’s traditionally robbed of in the story,) and by setting her journey against the backdrop of the 1950’s, I think Ruhl has plenty to say.

Director, Actor and Designer Packets

As part of my research phase, I read all or part of twelve academic articles and nine books. I watched other treatments of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth on DVD. I also met with my director and created a list of everything she wanted in her director’s packet and worked on that as well as the designer and acting packets. Following is the major treatments of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth for the director’s packet. I put a shorter version in the actor’s packet and for the designers there was less text, but more photos.

Major Treatments of Orpheus and Eurydice Ballet Orpheus by George Balanchine

In 1948, Balanchine created a ballet to eponymous music from 1947 by Igor Stravinsky, his frequent collaborator, with sets and costumes by Isamu Noguchi. The premiere took place on April 28, 1948, at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, and directly resulted in City Center's chairman, Morton Baum, inviting Balanchine and Kirstein to establish a resident company. The new company was named New York City Ballet and Balanchine remained its ballet master until his death. Film Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) by Marcel Camus

This 1959 Brazilian film sets the story in contemporary Brazil during Carnival. Orpheus is engaged to Mira, but meets and falls in love with Eurydice. They are chased through the streets by Mira and Death. Eurydice dies trying to escape, Orpheus tries to rescue her from death. He falls off a cliff with her body. Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival as well as the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the 1960 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film. A remake was made in 1999 by Cacá Diegues named Orfeu.

Orphic Trilogy by Jean Cocteau

Cocteau made three films: The Blood of a Poet (1930), Orpheus (1950), and Testament of Orpheus (1950.) It examines the roles of artists in modern society and how they function as observers, social critics and trailblazers in an increasingly fractured world. Orhpeus is contemporary retelling of the myth that touches on life in Paris during the post-war days of the 1950’s. It ends happily – seemingly it was all a dream. The other two films explore themes, but not the plot of Orpheus and Eurydice. Literature Eurydice by H. D.

This poem was written in 1926, during the painful disintegration of her marriage to Richard Aldington, "Eurydice" can be read on the most obvious biographical level as H.D.’s personal cry of rage and despair against an unfaithful husband, also a poet and once a mentor, who has drawn her toward unhappiness only to turn and reject her. Her Eurydice executes an Orphic turn of her own–or, if you will, a "Eurydicean" turn away from patriarchal convention–when she rejects the familiar myth of Orpheus as the faithful lover whose glance back at his wife signals at once his aspiration and his human imperfection. Orpheus’ backward glance, this Eurydice suggests, is more a gesture of greed. This poem is found in the appendix.

Georgics by Virgil

This poem in four books was likely published in 29 BC. It is the second major work by the Latin poet Virgil, following his Eclogues and preceding the Aeneid. It is a poem that draws on many prior sources and influenced many later authors from antiquity to the present. Scholars have often been at odds over how to read the work as a whole. Its subject is agriculture; but far from being an example of peaceful rural poetry, it is a work characterized by tensions in both theme and purpose. In book four, within a larger story of Aristaeus, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is found. This section is included in the appendix.

Metamorphoses by Ovid

Metamorphoses, is a Latin narrative poem in fifteen books by the Roman poet Ovid describing the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework. Completed in AD 8, it is recognized as a masterpiece of Golden Age Latin literature. The most-read of all classical works during the Middle Ages, the Metamorphoses continues to exert a profound influence on Western culture. It also remains the favorite work of reference for Greek myth upon which Ovid based these tales, albeit often with stylistic adaptations. The Death of Eurydice episode which occurs in Book X and is found in the appendix.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie

Published in 2000, it is a variation on the Orpheus/Eurydice myth with rock music replacing Orpheus' lyre. The myth works as a red thread from which the author sometimes strays, but to which he attaches an endless series of references. The novel has also been turned into a major new performance work combining music and film that premiered at the inaugural Manchester International Festival in England on 29 June 2007. Composed by Victoria Borisova-Ollas and featuring a new film directed by Mike Figgis.

The Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke wrote this cycle of sonnets in 1922 as a memorial for Wera Ouckama Knoop, a playmate of Rilke's daughter Ruth. There are 55 sonnets in the sequence, divided into two sections, the first of 26 and the second of 29. The sonnets follow certain trends, but they include many different forms. The content of the sonnets is, as is typical of Rilke, highly metaphorical. The character of Orpheus appears several times in the cycle, as do other mythical characters such as Daphne. There are also biblical allusions, including a reference to Esau. Other themes involve animals, peoples of different cultures, and time and death.

Music/Opera

Euridice (also Erudice or Eurydice) by Jacopo Peri

This opera also had additional music by Giulio Caccini and libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini. It is based on books X and XI of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The opera was first performed in Florence on October 6, 1600 and was written to commemorate the marriage of King Henry IV of France and Maria de Medici. It is the oldest surviving opera in history.

Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell

This concept album, was on March 9, 2010. The album features orchestral arrangements by Michael Chorney. The recording is based on the 'folk opera' which was originally featured a 22- person cast and toured New England. The album received extremely positive reviews.

L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi

An early Baroque opera (1607) with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio.Written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua, L'Orfeo is one of the earliest music dramas still regularly performed.

Metamorphosis by Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett, former guitarist for Genesis, wrote this classical music as an expression on Orpheus and his journey through the Underworld.

Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck

Opera with libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing. The piece was first performed at Vienna on 5 October 1762. Orfeo ed Euridice is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera seria with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama. It is the most popular of Gluck's works, and one of the most influential on subsequent German opera.

Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) by Jacques Offenbach.

Orpheus in the Underworld is an opéra bouffon (a form of operetta.) The work, first performed in 1858, is said to be the first classical full-length operetta and is more musically adventurous than Offenbach's earlier pieces. The operetta is an irreverent parody and scathing satire on Gluck and his Orfeo ed Euridice and culminates in the risqué galop infernal ("Infernal Galop") that shocked some in the audience at the premiere. Other targets of satire, as would become typical in Offenbach's burlesques, are the stilted performances of classical drama at the Comédie Française and the scandals in society and politics of the Second French Empire. The Infernal Galop from Act II, Scene 2, is famous outside classical circles as the music for the "Can-can".

The Mask of Orpheus by Harrison Birtwistle

An opera with libretto by Peter Zinovieff. It was premiered in London at the English National Opera on May 21, 1986 to great critical acclaim. A recorded version conducted by Andrew Davis and Martyn Brabbins has also received good reviews. The structure explores the Orpheus myth in a number of directions at once, examining the various contradictions which are in the various versions of the myth. It has a very elaborate stage design, whereby the stage is divided into a number of different areas, each containing its own part of the action. In addition, each of the major characters - Orpheus, Euridice and Aristaeus - appear in three forms: as a singer who represents their human forms; as a mime, representing their heroic selves; and as a puppet, representing their myths. Also, individual events may occur within the opera on several occasions, as they are being predicted, as they happen, and as they are being remembered.

Paintings There are multiple works of art based on this theme. I will include only two of the most famous paintings. For a comprehensive view of art, consult the book Orpheus in 19th Century Symbolism by Dorothy M. Kosinski.

Orpheus and Eurydice by Nicolas Poussin

This oil painting was created between 1650-1653. It represents the moment before Eurydice is bitten by the snake. Eurydice stands in her yellow dress, looking at the shadowy landscape and ominous sky, as though sensing its foreboding nature, while Orpheus plays his lyre for those sitting around him, oblivious of his wife’s impending doom. However, the aspect that draws the viewer’s attention is not the figures or the activities they are engulfed in, but the entirety of the landscape itself.

Orpheus and Eurydice by Titan

This oil painting in High Renaissance style was painted in 1508.

Plays Eurydice by Jean Anouilh

Written in 1941, the story is set in the 1930s, among a troupe of travelling performers. It combines skepticism about romance in general and the intensity of the relationship between Orpheus and Eurydice with an other-worldly mysticism. The result is a heavily ironic modern retelling of the classical Orpheus myth.

Eurydice is the daughter of the leading actress in a second-rate acting troupe. The troupe is waiting in a train station. Orphee is an accordionist at the station restaurant. Eurydice and Orphee meet and fall in love. Eurydice rejects the advances of a young man who is also a member of the troupe. The young man throws himself under a train. Eurydice leaves the actors and goes to live with Orphee. The couple is stalked by M. Henri, a sinister figure who may be an avenging fury. The manager of the acting troupe also hunts the couple down and reveals that Eurydice is his mistress and that she had also been sleeping with the young man who committed suicide. The couple quarrel but then reconcile.

Eurydice goes on a shopping trip and is run over by a bus. M. Henri is moved to compassion for Orphee and makes a bargain with death. Eurydice is brought back to life and M. Henri tells Orphee he must not look at Eurydice's face until dawn; if he does, she will die once more. Orphee, still angry from the discovery of Eurydice's previous love affairs, cannot resist looking her in the eye and berating her. She dies once more and compassionate M. Henri arranges for Orphee to be reunited with Eurydice in death.

Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams

It was first presented on Broadway in 1957 where it enjoyed a brief run with only modest success. The play is basically a rewrite of an earlier play by Williams called Battle of Angels. The play is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek Orpheus legend and deals, in the most elemental fashion, with the power of passion, art, and imagination to redeem and revitalize life, giving it new meaning. The story is set in a dry goods store in a small southern town marked, in the play, by conformity, sexual frustration, narrowness, and racism. Into this scene steps Val, a young man with a guitar, a snakeskin jacket, a questionable past, and undeniable animal-erotic energy and appeal. He gets a job in the dry goods store run by a middle-aged woman named Lady, whose elderly husband is dying. Lady has a past and passions of her own. She finds herself attracted to Val and to the possibility of new life he seems to offer. It is a tempting antidote to her loveless marriage and boring, small-town life. The play describes the awakening of passion, love, and life – as well as its tragic consequences for Val and Lady.

The play deals with passion, its repression and its attempted recovery. On another level, it is also about trying to live bravely and honestly in a fallen world. The play is replete with lush, poetic dialogue and imagery. In 1959, a screen adaptation under the title The Fugitive Kind was directed by Sidney Lumet. Orpheus Descending, a more faithful version starring Vanessa Redgrave was made in 1990. This was a film adaptation of the Peter Hall stage production. The play was also adapted as a two-act opera by Bruce Saylor and J. D. McClatchy in 1994.

For the director’s packet, I also put together a twelve page history of all the professional productions that had been done so far of Eurydice. A shorter-text version also appeared in the acting and designer’s packets. Here is a sampling of that 24 page document chronicling four productions:

Production History

2003 Aug-Sept Madison Repertory Theatre Madison, WI

The world premiere was directed by Richard Corley. It was well received. There was an additional character, an older woman who played the dual roles of Eurydice’s grandmother and the mother of the Lord of the Underworld, who tries to seduce Orpheus. As the Grandmother, she had completely lost her memory in the Underworld, but was at peace; she was a symbol that life goes on.10 The gates into the Underworld were made of a broken grand piano. Everyone in the Underworld wore bright, outlandish costumes and make-up.11

Eurydice in front of underworld drainpipe/pool Stone

10 Ruhl, Sarah and Wendy Weckwerth. “More Invisible Terrains.” Theatre. 34. 2 (2004): 28-35. Print. 11 Lachmund, Hayley. “’Eurydice’ kicks of Madison Rep season right.” The Badger Herald 24 September 2003. Web.

2006 Sept – Oct Yale Repertory Theatre New Haven, CT

Same cast and designers as the 2004 Berkeley Rep production.

“Ms. Ruhl’s quirky contemporary meditation on a much-meditated-upon story has some of the subliminal potency of music, the head-scratching surprise of a modernist poem and the cockeyed allure of a surrealist painting. It’s pretty funny, too… Oh, yeah, and it may just be the most moving exploration of the theme of loss that the American theater has produced since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, although Ms. Ruhl began work on the play before that terrible day… I should also warn that Ms. Ruhl’s offbeat style, which mixes colors and tones in ways that can be delightful but occasionally jarring, requires some re-education for audiences used to the contemporary theater’s steady diet of naturalism and relatively straightforward demarcations between comedy and drama. ” Charles Ishewood, “A Comic Impudence Softens a Tale of Loss” New York Times. Oct. 3, 2006

Eurydice with Father Ruhl said Stones were Orpheus arrives in inspired by Beckett’s Underworld sense of “silence, stillness and Vaudeville”

2008 April – June The Wilma Theatre Philadelphia PA

This production was directed by Blanka Zizka and had a complete score composed by Toby Twining which was performed live by four voices and a cello. The director’s concept was Federico Fellini’s film The Clowns, video artist Bill Viola, and conceptual artist Olafur Eliasson.

Here are two pictures of Eliasson’s work:

And here is Wilma’s set:

Here is the concept photo for costumes from Fellini’s The Clowns:

And here are Wilma’s clowns:

2008 Sept – Oct Artist Repertory Theatre Portland, OR

Directed by Randall Stuart, the opening scenes are more early 20th century then 1950’s. The set is made up of modular platforms projected with color.

The Stones are a bizarre mix – one on Orpheus and Eurydice find their way out of roller skates; another in a wheelchair the underworld following string

“From there, Ruhl's surrealist hell takes over as the star of the show. Borrowing from both "Blade Runner" and "Beetlejuice," it's a place that's not so much scary as confusing and, frankly, wildly entertaining. Rather than an actual devil, the operation seems to be run by a trio of strange characters, one on roller skates and another in a wheelchair, who call themselves "Stones." Eric Bartels, “Artist Rep takes ‘Eurydice’ from myth to surreal hell” The Portland Tribune. 23 September 2008

I also compiled 13 world myths that involve a journey to the underworld to recover a loved one. Here is a sampling of the list that appeared in all the packets.

Comparative Myths: A Journey to the Underworld12

Title: Ishtar in the Underworld Origin: Babylonia Searcher: Ishtar, goddess of love, beauty and fertility Lost Love: Tammuz, husband. Was a shepherd boy, but was upgraded to god of fertility when he married Ishtar. Cause of Death: People attack him with sickles and scatter his flesh over the earth; in later versions he is killed by a wild boar. Ruler of Underworld:Ereshkigal, Ishtar’s evil sister. Rules: Ishtar can enter the underworld if she leaves all signs of earthly wealth and privilege, just like everyone else; in death all are equal. Main Points: All reproduction on life ends as Ishtar mourns; Gods allow her to go to the underworld to retrieve Tammuz; Ishtar enters through seven gates; she is naked; Ereshkigal unleashes 60 miseries upon her body; the God create a beautiful eunuch to distract Ereshkigal; as eunuch enters through the gates, Ishtar and Tammuz slip out. As the eunuch removes his robes at the last gate, Ereshkigal is disappointed. Outcome: Mixed. Tammuz has to live 6 months in underworld (fall and winter) and six months on earth with Ishtar (spring and summer.)

Title: Pare and Hutu Origin: New Zealand Searcher: Hutu, a boy who is rejected by Pare, so he runs away Lost Love: Pare, a beautiful girl, Cause of Death: Pare feels so bad that Hutu ran away that she hangs herself. Ruler of Underworld:None mentioned, Pare just resides there with multitudes of others. Rules: The only rule mentioned is that you cannot live in the land of the living (the Ao world) unless you have a soul. Main Points: Hutu follows Pare into the underworld and tries to get her attention; he finally succeed by swinging high in a tree, a game that Pare joins in; they swing so high that they are able to grasp the roots of plants poking down from the Ao world above; they start to pull themselves up through the roots; When Pare is nearly through, Hutu pushes her soul up through the soles of her feet so she will be able to live again. Outcome: Love wins. Because love is stronger than death, Hutu has the magic to give Pare back her soul. They marry and their progeny become a great tribe.

12 Bierlein, J. F. Parallel Myths. New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group, 1994. Print

My “Why This Play Now” was the first document in every packet. It is my dramaturgical position on Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and is part of the Ghostlight Method of dramaturgy.

Why This Play Now? Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. What could a story written thousands of years ago have to do with contemporary theatre? Why are we still telling it?

The answer is as old as myth itself. Myths are stories that reflect a community’s beliefs. They usually tackle the big issues, such as creation, love, and death. Myths are still crucial to modern life because they search to understand and process what it means to be human. In her small work, Ruhl explores big issues of loss, remembering and forgetting, relationships, and what it means to be an artist.

This alone is reason enough to make space in our season for this unique and thought-provoking play; however, Sarah Ruhl does one thing above all else that makes this play timely and important for our area: She gives voice to Eurydice.

For centuries, Eurydice has been the mute partner of Orpheus, the object and inspiration for his art, the victim of his gaze and essentially has played a “woman-as-Other, woman-as-death, woman as Freud’s ‘dark continent’”13 role. What Ruhl brings to the ancient story is Eurydice herself. From the very first lines, Eurydice is established as the active protagonist with a voice. No longer a victim, Eurydice makes her own choice to stay in the underworld; she is the see-er, not just the seen.

Ruhl’s Eurydice leaves you thinking and stays with you long after the final curtain. Our area is quite conservative with lingering traditional gender roles and boundaries. I feel this play can promote healthy conversation on how we really see each other and our roles.

13 Sword, Helen. “Orpheus and Eurydice in the Twentieth Century: Lawrence, H. D., and the Poetics of the Turn” Twentieth Century Literature. P 408

This is the general play analysis I did on Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice. Abbreviated versions appeared in the actor and designer packets.

Play Analysis

Scene Breakdown

FIRST MOVEMENT

Scene 1 Beach We meet Orpheus and Eurydice. They are hopelessly in love. We see some of the ways in which they have differences: Orpheus loves music, Eurydice likes language and books. They become engaged. Scene 2 Underworld Father writes letter to Eurydice and gives her some practical wedding advice. He tells what it’s like to be dead and that he is one of the few dead people who still remember how to read and write. He mails the letter and imagines he is walking Eurydice down the aisle. Scene 3 Water Pump Eurydice is not enjoying her wedding party and is bored. She laments that her father is not there. She meets the Interesting/Nasty Man who flatters her and invites her to an “interesting affair.” She refuses and leaves. Man finds a letter addressed to Eurydice. Scene 4 Underworld Father dances with an imaginary partner. Wedding Orpheus and Eurydice sing then Eurydice leaves to get a drink. Scene 5 Water Pump Interesting Man lures Eurydice away with Father’s letter. Scene 6 Water Pump Orpheus cries after Eurydice. Scene 7 Apartment Interesting Man tries to seduce Eurydice in his high rise apartment. He corners her, but she grabs letter and runs. She falls down the stairs and dies. Water Pump Orpheus cries after Eurydice

SECOND MOVEMENT Scene 1 Underworld Stones narrate the story so far. Eurydice arrives in a raining elevator. She tells of dying and crossing the river of forgetfulness. Father arrives, but Eurydice doesn’t remember him. She thinks he’s the porter. Father plays the part. He gently tries to help her remember through words and language. The stones try to reinforce the rules of the Underworld. Scene 2 World Orpheus tries to write a letter to Eurydice, but can’t. He conducts a symphony to her instead. Scene 3 Underworld Father builds room of string for Eurydice. Scene 4 Underworld Father gives room to Eurydice. She still thinks he’s the porter. Scene 5 World Orpheus writes a letter to Eurydice

Scene 6 Underworld Father brings the letter to Eurydice. Father teaches her about reading and love and music, and she remembers Orpheus and her father. Scene 7 World Orpheus writes another letter to Eurydice telling her of a dream. He pleads with her to come back. Scene 8 Underworld Father and Eurydice talk about memory and how it can make you sad. Scene 9 Underworld Father teaches Eurydice words and tells her stories. Scene 10 World Orpheus sends Eurydice a book. Scene 11 Underworld Eurydice tries to read the book by standing on it. Father comes and teaches her to read. Scene 12 World Orpheus calls 4-1-1 unsuccessfully. He makes the decision to go after Eurydice Scene 13 Underworld Father and Eurydice reminisce and sing. Stones stop them. Scene 14 Underworld Father leaves for work. The Lord of the Underworld shows up. He is a child. He flirts with Eurydice. He sees the string room and says rooms are not allowed and fathers are not allowed. He says she should be dipped in the river again. He tells her he should be her lover and leaves. Scene 15 World There is a storm. Orpheus is trying to figure out how to get to the Underworld. He finds a note to match the pitch of a raindrop. Scene 16 Underworld Father and Eurydice talk about Orpheus. She expresses the difficulty of loving an artist and a concrete thinker. Scene 17 World Orpheus writes a letter to Eurydice telling her his plans to come. Scene 18 Underworld Eurydice tells Father Orpheus’ plans. Scene 19 World Orpheus breathes into straw. Scene 20 Underworld Stones hear Orpheus knocking at the door of the dead.

THIRD MOVEMENT

Scene 1 Underworld Orpheus sings at the gate and the Stones weep. The Lord of the Underworld tells him he can have Eurydice if he walks out of here and never looks back to see if she’s following. Scene 2 Underworld Eurydice hears Orpheus and is torn between Orpheus and her Father. Father walks her to meet Orpheus like he’s walking her down the wedding isle. After she says goodbye to Father, she changes her mind, she wants to go back. The stones tell her to keep going to Orpheus. She starts to follow him, and then makes a decision. She catches up with him and calls his name. He is startled into turning around, and he looks at her. She looks at him. They start to talk about their relationship and its downfalls. They apologize and say goodbye. They separate. Scene 3 Underworld Father dismantles the string room. The Stones advise Father to dip himself in the river. He talks about all sorts of memories as he does. Eurydice returns. She is upset about her room and her Father. The Lord of the Underworld appears and demands Eurydice as a

bride. She can see she has no choice. She writes one last letter to Orpheus with instructions to his new wife. She then dips herself into the river and lies down by her father. Orpheus enters the Underworld through the elevator. He sees Eurydice and is filled with joy. He gets rained on and his expression goes blank.

Plot Summary Exposition: Orpheus and Eurydice are in love. They are perhaps too in young and idealistic, but they get married. Inciting Incident: On her wedding day, Eurydice is lured to the Interesting Man’s apartment to get a letter from her Father, who is dead. He tries to trap her; she runs away and falls down the stairs and dies. Rising Action: Eurydice meets her Father in the Underworld, a place ruled by a childish Lord who wants her for his own. Her Father tries to help her remember him and her life. Orpheus tries to reach Eurydice through letters. Turning Point: Orpheus decides that he cannot live without Eurydice and is going to travel to the Underworld to retrieve her. Rising Action: Orpheus arrives and the Lord gives him entrance and a test: He can have Eurydice if he walks out without looking back at her. Eurydice is torn between her Father and Orpheus – neither choice is perfect and she loses either way. Climax: Orpheus and Eurydice are walking out of the Underworld and Eurydice chooses to stay, calls out to Orpheus who turns and looks – she looks back. They say goodbye. Falling Action Eurydice returns to find her room gone and her Father’s memory of her gone. The Lord shows up with his command to be his. Denouement She chooses to dip herself in the river and forget too. Orpheus shows up, gets wet and ends up forgetting too.

Story Analysis Although Sarah Ruhl has written in a postmodern style, her basic story can still fit into an Aristotelian model, as shown above. In classic terms, it is a tragedy with Eurydice, Orpheus and Father losing to the laws of life and death as personified by the Lord of the Underworld and the Stones. No one can cheat death. Eurydice is the protagonist who also struggles against Orpheus, Father, and even herself to define who she is and to choose for herself. In a more postmodern analysis where remembering is not privileged over forgetting, the play is a postmodern drama where no one really wins and the story exists merely to explore the issues living, loving, losing and dying. Ruhl deconstructs language like a poem. She shows an intelligent use of theatre conventions and intertextuality. She borrows from Shakespeare, Beckett, Lewis Carroll, Ionesco and of course, the Greeks.

This is the character analysis I did for the actor’s packet. The same information appeared in the other packets, but here I used pictures based on the director’s concept to liven it up. At the end you will find a character map I drew to show an overview of each character’s movements throughout the play in relationship to the different worlds and to the other characters. Character Analysis

Eurydice Eurydice is a young woman in love. She is energetic; loves learning and thinking about people and new ideas. She is not afraid of argument or differing opinions. Eurydice is polite, but slightly abashed at Orpheus’ attention to his art. She likes interesting things and stories and books and she can be a little restless. Her language is beautiful and descriptive. Connection to others is important to her. Music is not important; she can’t sing or remember rhythms and doesn’t feel the need to be good at it. She is a little concerned about being destroyed by Orpheus’ music, or at least about being ignored by his attention to it. Eurydice misses her father. She is trusting, innocent, and loving. Historical Content: Although there is little known about Eurydice, it is generally thought that she was a dryad or tree nymph and a daughter of Apollo. In most forms of the story, she is usually a minor character.

Orpheus Orpheus is a young musician and idealistic artist. He is a little full of himself, a little clueless and is obsessed with his music. He sees Eurydice through his own lens; as he wants to see her – he wants her to be musical. He has a harder time expressing himself through words. It’s easier for him to communicate through music. Orpheus hates writing, in fact. He’s more of a concrete operational thinker and likes things to be the way he sees them. There is an element of control with Eurydice; he wants to bind her to him and he doesn’t like to see her leave. He can be overprotective and smothering. But he is also in love in grand fashion. He is imaginative and

magical (he can sing his way into the Underworld after all.) He loves with everything he’s got; he’s brave and determined and doesn’t give up. Historical Content: Orpheus was the son of Calliope, the muse of epic poetry. Orpheus’ father was Apollo, or more likely the Thracian king, Oeagrus. Apollo plays an important role in Orpheus’ life however, as he gives Orpheus his lyre which gives birth to Orpheus’ amazing musical abilities. Orpheus was a devoted worshipper of Apollo which may have caused his death. He was torn apart by Maenads, wild women followers of Dionysus, a rival god to Apollo (or they may have torn him apart because after Eurydice died he abjured all women and they were really ticked off.) Orpheus’ severed head became an oracle and his story spawned a whole religious movement known as Orphism. Orpheus was known as a poet, musician, prophet, and magician and may have been a real historical person.

Father Father is supportive and loving. He’s also practical and punctual. He seems pretty satisfied with life (or death.) But he’s a norm breaker and has fought to keep his memory in the underworld. Father is sentimental, patient, caring, and understanding. He’s an insightful and intelligent teacher. He is also self-sacrificing and willing to give up Eurydice, if necessary. Historical Content: There is no father character in the Greek myth and I couldn’t verify Eurydice’s parentage at all. The father character seems to be built on Ruhl’s own father who died when she was 20.

Interesting/Nasty Man The Interesting/Nasty Man is well, interesting and nasty. He’s devious and knows how to exploit Eurydice’s weaknesses (her boredom, love of Father and concerns about Orpheus.) He is a flatterer and a liar. He hints that he’s dead (pg 23) – which means that he’s probably the Lord of the Underworld come up to lure her down to him.

Historical Content: In some of the versions of the ancient story, a minor God named Aristaeus chases Eurydice through the forest and it is while fleeing Aristaeus that Eurydice was bitten by the snake. In fact the snake bite could be seen as a symbolic figure to represent the rape and murder of Eurydice by Aristaeus. Besides this blot on his character, he is largely known for the good and useful things he did, like introduce bee keeping, cheese making, husbandry and the growing of fruit trees. This is hinted at in the script when the Interesting/Nasty man says he has hands like potatoes and Orpheus would tremble at a bee. There is also a prominent story of how he brought the cooling winds to the coast of Ceos. His father was Apollo; his mother, the sea naiad Cyrene. When he was a baby, Hermes fed him on ambrosia to make him immortal. He was punished for his part in Eurydice’s death when all his bees died, but by following a seer’s advice he restored his bees that swarmed from a sacrificed bulls decomposing body. Virgil passed along this method as advice to other bee keepers who have lost their bees. Sarah Ruhl’s convention of making the Interesting/Nasty Man the same as the Lord of the Underworld, mirrors a treatment of the story by Jacques Offenbach, whose operetta Orphee aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) is a comedy in which Eurydice and Orpheus are unhappily married and Eurydice is in love with Artistaeus, who is really Hades in disguise.

Lord of the Underworld At first the Lord of the Underworld is childish, devious and devilish. He wants Eurydice for his own, and you get the idea he gets whatever he wants. Later he’s grown tall and more commanding; more dangerous. Historical Content: The Lord of the Underworld is Hades. He is God of the dead as well as the rights to proper burial, the hidden wealth of the earth, and fertile soil. He was eaten by his father Kronos along with his siblings. Zeus later was able to get Kronos to throw them all up and they banded together to defeat the Titans. The three main brothers, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades drew lots to settle which domain they would rule over. Hades got the short end of the stick when he drew the Underworld. As Eurydice’s story somewhat mirrors that of Persephone, you should know that Hades kidnapped Persephone, daughter of Demeter, Goddess of Earth and forced her to be his wife. When Demeter found out where Persephone was, she grieved so deeply that the whole Earth began to die. Zeus brokered a compromise: Persephone would live six months of the year with Hades and six months with her mother. When Persephone is with her mother we have Spring and Summer, but when she’s in the Underworld, Demeter mourns and we have Fall and Winter.

The Stones The stones act like a Greek chorus: in unison, but unique. They are in varying degrees of deadness and forgetfulness. They are the authority in the Underworld; the final word. They police what’s going on and comment on suspicious behavior and give warnings and advice. They do not like noise, music, commotion, and remembering. Above all, they do not like human emotion. Historical Content: There are no stones mentioned in the Underworld, other than the large one that Sisyphus has to roll up and down the hill for eternity. There are some creatures that could hold some similarities with the stones: the furies (or in Greek, Erinyes.) They are three fierce sisters. They are known as the angry ones, the kind ones, goddesses of vengeance, but are also known for their fairness. They were born from drops of Uranus’ blood. Their job is to basically police the Underworld and torment “whoever has sworn a false oath.” Sometimes they are old hags, other times beautiful and young, but so fierce-looking as to be hideous. They are sometimes portrayed with bat wings or bird bodies or the body of dogs. They were said to have snakes in their hair and blood dripping from their eyes.

Research Conclusion

By the end of the summer, I had fallen completely in love with Eurydice. I had not only become more comfortable within the world of the story but was continually amazed at what I found around every corner. I was still uncovering layers of meaning and every time I interacted with the text I found something new to explore. I had my packets out and the posts were growing on the blog. I knew there was much more to discover, but I felt ready to enter the rehearsal process.

Belly of the Beast

“I don’t know where I am and there are all these stones and I hate them! They’re horrible! I want a bath!” Eurydice Second Movement, Scene 1

Just as Wen adjusted to her new surroundings, the ground began to shake. She looked up as a terrible Lindworm came crashing into view. Its snake-like body reared up and roared. Wen was terrified, but knew the witch had prepared her for just such an encounter.

Wen wielded her tools with as much courage as she could muster, but her shield of scholarly research was quickly batted away by the Lindworm’s thrashing tail. In like manner her sextant of insight and dagger of criticism soon went flying. Undaunted, Wen slowly drew her sword of analysis and said,

“I will cut you down to size!”

But the dragon merely chortled, “You Dramaturgs slay me! Really, you make life quite amusing. You’ve been a dramaturg for, what, three whole months now? Well, I’ve been here for CENTURIES!”

And the Lindworm promptly swallowed Wen in one gulp.

With the bulk of my research complete, it was time to apply it. Regardless of my attempts to do as much of the work on my summer break, I was now facing my semester course work and I still had a long to-do list for Eurydice. The pressure was on! I needed to plan my dramaturgical presentation for the cast; work with Dr. John Newman to write and edit the Learning Stages and Sharing Stages educational supplements; execute my classroom visits; create my lobby display; write my program note; and launch the Dear Eurydice Project. It was stressful and challenging, but it was also engaging and rewarding.

Rehearsing with the Cast

I loved working with the cast. Dr. Hagen gave me two sessions at the beginning of the rehearsal process. By this time, I was so struck with the depth of the script and my own personal connection to it that my main goal became to facilitate the actor’s own connection and to see the powerful potential this piece could have with their audience.

We started by passing around a ball of string. We sat in a circle and everyone shared the ways they had connected to the story while creating a web of physical connection

with the string. I was humbled by the deep personal stories the actors told and was thrilled to see that they were already creating their own deep connections. We talked about myth and the power story has to help us navigate and process our human experiences.

The second session focused on the themes of death and loss found in mythology. Each actor was assigned one of the comparative myths and they presented them to the cast. One used poetry, some used pictures, and others storytelling. This was followed by a discussion about these themes and why they are so prevalent in the stories the world chooses to tell.

Cast Questions

As the rehearsal process continued, I would occasionally get questions from the director and cast. Here are two of my responses:

From the Director: “What is the significance of the King Lear quote?”

The Father as King Lear

“We two alone will sing like birds in the cage. When thou dost ask my blessing, I’ll kneel down And ask of thee forgiveness; so we’ll live, And pray and sing...”

The quote the Father chooses to teach Eurydice to read is significant. It is from the end of King Lear (Act 5 Scene 3) when the faithful daughter, Cordelia, is reunited with her father Lear after he foolishly exiled her at the beginning of the play. They are heading off to prison after being captured by the traitorous other daughters; the kingdom and their lives are in ruins. They both will soon be dead.

The quote shows both the wisdom and the foolishness of the Father and King Lear. Wisdom in that these patriarchs have learned to see what’s important. The quote continues:

“...and tell old tales, and laugh At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues Talk of court news; and we’ll talk with them too, Who loses and who wins; who’s in, who’s out; And take upon the mystery of things As if we were God’s spies; and we’ll wear out, In a wall’d prison, packs and sects of great ones, That ebb and flow by the moon.”

Here Lear talks about setting aside the turmoil of the world; the worrying over who wins and who loses and focus on more simple matters: forgiveness, prayer, telling stories. It seems Lear is ready to accept contentment with simply being with his daughter. This seems to be echoed by the Father in the underworld scenes with Eurydice.

The quote also shows the foolishness of Lear and Father. King Lear by this point in the story is, after all, crazy. Amidst all the turmoil, he seems to think that he and Cordelia can escape the looming danger and live a simple peaceful existence, but reality catches up with him for soon he and his daughter are dead. Perhaps it is folly on the part of the Father to think that he and Eurydice can live outside the rules of the underworld forever and, symbolically, it certainly is folly for any father to think he can hold on to his little girl forever. Just like Lear, Father and Eurydice can’t escape their fate and end up in the waters of Lethe.

From the student scenic designer, Casey Price: “I would like to know about the Greek’s view of the underworld. What happened with souls once they reached the underworld? Did they see the underworld as a dark scary place or was it a place for new beginnings? Was Hades feared? Are there any similarities between the Greek underworld and our view of heaven and hell? The Greek Underworld The underworld is ruled by Hades. Hades was one of the three brothers who overthrew their father Cronus. They drew straws to see who would rule what part of the universe. Hades got the short end of the stick, you could say, as he drew the Underworld. He became King of the Dead, but he is not Death. Thanatos, another being, was Death. He was somewhat unwanted, even among the other Gods, so I would say people were uneasy about him. He was “unpitying, inexorable, but just; a terrible, but not an evil God.”14 Hades kept mostly to himself. I think people feared Hades, just as people fear death – some with terror, some with unease, and maybe even some with relief.

The poets describe the Underworld as beneath the secret places of the earth. It was generally thought to have two sections: one, sometimes called Tartarus, was a horrible place of endless torture and the Elysian Fields which was a place of great light and blessedness. After crossing the river Styx and passing by Cerberus, the three-headed dog at the gates, people were judged by three judges and were assigned to the appropriate place depending on how they spent their lives. This begins to sound similar to a general Catholic or Protestant viewpoint.

To end, I leave you with a quote from Sarah Ruhl about why she put a raining elevator in the script. It gives some insight into what she might consider Hell: “I think it’s something about contemporary alienation: the experience of going to the underworld involves an alienation or unfamiliarity. Not in a devilish or horrible way, but in a contemporary way. Like when you go to a mall and you’re in an elevator. It smells funny and it’s tinny. Then you walk out and you’re in a corporate hell. I was thinking about that sort of moral neutrality in the underworld I was creating.” This is not Dante’s Inferno.15

14 Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Back Bay Books, 1969. Print. 15 Ruhl, Sarah and Wendy Weckwerth. “More Invisible Terrains.” Theatre. 34. 2 (2004): 28-35. Print.

Cast Concerns

Not everything with the cast ran smoothly. My biggest trauma came as two cast members questioned some of my work and methods. Two of the actors took issue with a post I wrote that looked at the relationship between Orpheus and Eurydice and with some of the sexist 1950’s clips I posted. Here is the original post and comments:

Words vs. Music

Orpheus loves music. There’s no doubt about it. Every time Eurydice asks him what’s on his mind, he is thinking about music. He’s a musician; it’s what he does.

Eurydice loves books and words. She likes to mull over the opinions of others and think through arguments. She likes interesting new things. She likes to hear stories; nothing wrong with that.

They’re two nice people, ridiculously good-looking, and they’re in love. So what’s the problem? Well… they have two different ways of looking at the world. Orpheus is more concrete; more black and white. Things are just how he sees them. Eurydice sees more possibilities; more options. Even this wouldn’t be a problem, except that when Orpheus looks at Eurydice, he only sees music. At best, he’s uninterested and at worst, uncomfortable with her love of language. He tries to change the subject – back to music.

From almost the very first page of the script, Orpheus is trying to make Eurydice over into how he sees her. He tries to teach her his melodies. He says he’s going to turn every strand of her hair into an instrument to play his music. He pesters her to practice and remember his melodies. If he wasn’t so darn adorable, I’m sure she’d notice that he’s a tad controlling.

Throughout her play, Sarah Ruhl uses music and words to play out the relationships and story line. Language plays a big role in remembering in the Underworld and building the relationship between Eurydice and her Father. The power of Orpheus’ music is how he gets into the Underworld… almost. Actually it’s the power of his music and Eurydice’s name. To successfully reach Eurydice, he had to utilize both; he had to sing her name.

After Eurydice makes her choice to stay and they are saying goodbye, he brings up again her appalling lack of rhythm – spelling out the ways she did not measure up to his ideal. In the very end, I think he starts to get it. He calls out, “Will you talk to me!”16

By then it is too late.

Orpheus came to find Eurydice with music – his music. I wonder… would he have succeeded if he found her with words?

Actor One said... This article feels a little generalize to me, so I'd like to offer a second opinion from an inside perspective.

This post says Orpheus looks at her and sees music. There's never any indication of music being something visual to Orpheus. Rather he looks at her, and hears music.

Ya Orpheus loves music, but he also loves Eurydice. Like any good artist his work is connected to his experience of life. When he looks at her he hears music. That's beautiful. She inspires him. How many wonderful husbands have said that about their wives? Orpheus plays THE saddest music when she is gone. So sad, the stones weep. So sad, he breaks through the gates of hell by singing her name over and over and over again. Her name. The name he speaks more than any other word in the play. Why? Because he loves her. He loves HER. He doesn't love his made up image of what he wants her to be. He loves her. I feel like saying, "At best, he's uninterested and at worst, uncomfortable with her love of language" belittles his love for her. He isn't uncomfortable with her love of language. He adores it in the way we adore in others the passions and drive that we may not always understand. I feel he is being completely honest in saying, "I love how you love books." He even lowers a book into the underworld, wondering if she misses reading them.

So to paint a picture of Orpheus as someone who's love isn't genuine, who doesn't know Eurydice, who is absorbed in his musical ego, seems to me an unnecessary and unfounded direction. For those of you looking for something else in this play, I suggest looking at their relationship with compassion. Their mistakes are so often our mistakes. It's so easy to let small differences and choices break-up, that which is beautiful and enduring.

September 28, 2011 9:35 PM

Actor Two said... Not quite sure where this is coming from. This is not the Orpheus I am reading about in the script, nor seeing on stage… I feel like most of this is over generalized opinion at best, if not just plain drawn out of personal conclusions. Telling the audience how to view Orpheus before he is presented before them is probably not a good idea… especially if it is completely off base from what the actor and cast are portraying.

16 Ruhl, Sarah. Eurydice. New York: Samuel French, 2008. Print.

September 28, 2011 9:54 PM

Wendy Gourley said... I don't think Orpheus' love is ingenuine - I think he's very sincere, but I also find support for my comments in the script.

That being said, the posts here are just food for thought. There is no right or wrong way to look at a story or to connect to a story. Everyone will find their own way to interact with the play.

Along those lines, thank you for posting your ideas and opinions - it makes the conversations richer.

September 28, 2011 10:13 PM

The same night, this comment was left on a post where I had film clips showing the expectations of the “ideal woman” in the 1950’s.

Actor Two said... While this may have been prevalent in the 50's I don't see what these videos have to do with the show Eurydice that we are producing. I have withheld this comment when we were first presented with this and other sexism material in rehearsal, because I wanted to explore the script more and see if there was something I was just missing. After a couple months I don't see a sexism theme or even undertone in Eurydice. But maybe thats just because of my ignorant man-ness. September 28, 2011 9:49 PM

Wendy Gourley said... I don't think it's sexism as much as the mythology of perfect relationships and people. Ruhl said she wrote the play to give voice to Eurydice, who historically has been silent. She set the play in the 1950's and recreates idealized moments that seem lifted right out of the movies of the era. I find all of that extremely interesting and enjoy exploring what she might be saying with those choices.

September 28, 2011 10:28 PM

I didn’t mind the disagreement; I welcomed it, although I was not wild about the tone in which it was sometimes stated. I had tried all along to provide divergent opinions and viewpoints in my posts. What I did not like was the implication that I was harming the play by telling people what to think. I thought, “I’m new at this. I certainly don’t feel secure in my abilities yet. Am I in error?”

Quite frankly, the thought was frightening. I loved this project. I was giving my all to it, and to think I was doing harm rather than good was rather disquieting. I emailed Dr.

Hagen and asked her opinion. She read through the posts and comments, and said I was on the right path.

She did offer a few suggestions though. In the blog, I tried to keep it light-hearted and not too academic, but I could have protected myself through citation. If I had quoted the passages of script from which I formed my assertions and if I would have listed a quote or two from other articles that discussed the same issues then I would not have appeared to be hanging precariously from my lone branch of personal opinion.

I also felt part of the problem arose from our department being unfamiliar with what a dramaturg is and what a dramaturg is supposed to do. Lisa Hagen has only been at UVU for about a year and started the dramaturgy program only six months before. Previous to that, I doubt hardly anyone in the department even knew what a dramaturg was – except for some faculty, perhaps. Only two productions before Eurydice had dramaturgs and I think we are still in an educational period where we are all learning what to expect from a dramaturg and how they can be of service to a production. Many things I did for Eurydice had not been done before on our campus.

In the end, I have to leave everyone to connect to the story in their own way. The actor who does not see any feminist issues in the play, perhaps does not know that the director asked me to specifically look at those issues and that I have read several articles and books that discussed those issues in the play. He is a young man with his own life experiences and I am a middle aged woman with mine. I would be shocked if we connected to any story in exactly the same way.

The Boon

“Surely not – surely not the sky and the stars too” Eurydice First Movement, Scene 1

As Wen slid down the long slimy tunnel, she thought this was surely the end – but she was wrong – she reached the end when she was unceremoniously dumped into the dragon’s stomach. She beat upon the walls of that great cavern and wailed, but the stomach only growled back.

After her tantrum, she sat down to assess the situation. She had no weapons, no food and no ideas. Then she noticed rolling around in the viscous matter at her feet – a misshapen black orb.

“Could it be?” she thought incredulously.

Wen fished the orb from among the various half-digested flotsam and jetsam and took a closer look.

“It is!” she breathed, “A real dragon gastrolith! This must be my boon!”

The witch had taught Wen that a dragon gastrolith was the most powerful dramaturgical weapon of all. If she could just get home, she could use this magical talisman to help everyone digest her plays in powerful ways… But how to get home?

Then she remembered; she hadn’t lost all of her tools! In her knapsack, she had the most important tool of all: the ancient text. How could’ve she forgotten? She pulled out her text and knew exactly what she should do: she would set it ablaze!

Soon, billowing black clouds of smoke began to rise up the Lindworm’s throat. The great beast began to wheeze and cough so violently that Wen was propelled right out of his mouth and half-way home before her feet hit the ground running. In her hand she grasped the shiny gastrolith.

After all this work, I was excited to get to the various projects that encompassed my educational outreach. I love teaching and working directly with people and was excited to share some of the wonderful things that I had found along my journey.

Learning and Sharing Stages

I asked to be the editor and writer for the Noorda Theatre’s educational supplements. This job is normally done by Dr. Newman, the director of the Noorda Theatre. Learning Stages is geared for high school audiences and I chose the theme of mythology. I wanted to make sure the students knew the original myth, so I asked student artist Trevor Robertson to draw the story like a graphic novel or comic strip. This ended up being so effective, I added it to my lobby display. Sharing Stages targeted the university audience and we addressed “the look” in the climax. This supplement

touched on the feminist issues found in the play (as Eurydice was the one to initiate the look in the play) and the idea of not looking back. Here is Learning Stages; it was handed out to all the Jr. High and High school students who came to our matinees.

This is a letter of recommendation from Dr. John Newman who worked with me to create the Learning and Sharing Stages:

Classroom Outreach Visits

One of the favorite things I did was visit classrooms at UVU. I visited the Mythology class, two Intro to Theatre classes, English Honors Colloquium, Art History and a “Death and Dying” class. Overall, I worked with over 150 students. Each presentation was designed differently, but each started with the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. I felt it was a necessary jumping-off point. I wrote my own version and performed it as a storyteller. Here is a section of that piece:

Orpheus and Eurydice

When Orpheus entered Hades’ throne room, it was like a shaft of light piercing through a dusty gloom. Never had life entered there. When his fingers vibrated the strings of the lyre, it sent out a wave that stirred the soil and threatened to bring old dry bones back to life. As he sang of the sun, Hades felt a hush fall over the underworld. The Furies lay down their whips, Sisyphus let his stone rest and Tartarus grew silent of its moans. As he sang of new love, tears began to course down Persephone’s face, and although it was mid-Winter, Hades saw the soil above his head begin to stir – awakened by his wife’s longing.

Hades could see that Orpheus must be dealt with – quickly, but carefully. He granted his request, but on his own terms. Eurydice could go – if Orpheus walked out of the underworld – walked out right now and never looked back – not a glance, not a peek. He would have to trust that Eurydice was behind him and if he could reach the surface without looking, Eurydice would be his.

Orpheus was overjoyed. Hadn’t he braved the very gates of Hell? Hadn’t he proved love was stronger than death? To complete this last task was the simplest of all – but Orpheus was young and naïve; he did not understand that Hades has invoked a powerful force: doubt.

At first it was easy; Orpheus triumphantly left Hades’ palace, singing his joy! But as he neared the gates, he began to wonder: was Eurydice really behind him? He stopped singing to listen. He could hear no footstep. He listened harder… he could hear no breath. “Eurydice?” There was no answer. That’s okay, he thought, it’s just all part of the test. He bravely marched on – past the three headed dog and down to the river.

As he stepped into the boat, he waited for the boat to sway as Eurydice entered behind him. There was no movement beyond the boat being pushed from shore. Well, maybe she wouldn’t be truly alive until they reached the surface. If she were still spirit, she would be nothing more than air. As they sailed across the inky waters, the silence began to press on Orpheus’ ears. He strained for any signs of life beyond his own. He could see the faces of the dead floating just under the surface of the river. Was this what Eurydice looked like? Was she sunken eyes and crawling flesh? Surely this was not what the Gods had in mind when they started him on this quest.

After the story, the discussion and activities would vary depending on the teacher’s curriculum. Intro to Theatre focused on the production values; In Art History we looked at five specific Romantic artists’ paintings and sculptures of the original myth. We discussed how both Romantic artists and mythology romanticizes ideals of relationships and gender roles.

I really loved the mythology class, where we talked about the power of myth similar to my work with the cast. After I told the original myth and the spider web activity, we looked at some of the comparative myths. Through powerpoint, we also looked at the myths of the 50’s. With volunteer readers, we read a few selections from the text to see how they mirrored that ideal of perfection:

These iconic images were compared to a cutting of the first beach scene. We also compared a section with a famous movie, It’s a Wonderful Life:

Eurydice: It’s a Wonderful Life

ORPHEUS I’m going to make each strand GEORGE What is it you want, Mary? What of your hair into an instrument. Your hair do you want? You want the moon? Just say will stand on end as it plays my music and the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and become a hair orchestra. It will fly you up pull it down. Hey, that's a pretty good idea. into the sky. I'll give you the moon, Mary.

EURYDICE I don’t know if I want to be an MARY I'll take it. And then what? instrument. GEORGE Well, then you could swallow it and ORPHEUS Why? it'd all dissolve, see? And the moonbeams'd shoot out of your fingers and your toes, and EURYDICE Won’t I fall down when the the ends of your hair. song ends?

ORPHEUS That’s true. But the clouds will be so moved by your music that they will fill up with water until they become heavy and you’ll sit on one and fall gently down to earth. How about that?

59 Eurydice: Okay.

My favorite experience by far was in the “Death and Dying” class. It was time to plan it and I wasn’t sure what to do. So I did what I always do: return to the text. I looked at every line that discussed death (we read some of those,) and I reread every quote I had from Sarah Ruhl – and that’s where I found it – my ultimate boon. This quote became for me what the whole play, what theatre and story is all about:

“Having someone I loved and adored die ... so early, there seemed to be no cultural outlet to deal with that except therapy. I thought, 'Why should this be pathologized?' We're all going to do the dying thing someday. It felt like there was no cultural ritual to organize my feelings. Theater became that for me."17

Everything I had been trying to say, about the importance of myth became so crystal clear. When I visited the “Death and Dying” class, we talked about how our society today often does not provide us with ritual and signposts to navigate the difficult transitions of our human existence. We talked about how the stories we tell and the art we create can become those signposts for ourselves and others; that we, like Sarah Ruhl, can create our own rituals. We ended by creating our own death rituals. It was a powerful session.

17 Berson, Misha. “Eurydice: Love, death and a myth retold.” Seattle Times. September 8, 2008

This is a letter of recommendation from one of the teachers I worked with, Kathryn McPherson, who heads up the UVU Freshmen Honor’s Colloquium.

The Return

“It seems that here, you can better see the far reaching consequences of your actions.” Eurydice First Movement, Scene 2

When Wen arrived home, the witch was waiting for her. Wen eagerly reached into her knapsack to show her the gastrolith, but when she untied the string and opened the cloth, there was nothing left but the faint smell of gastric juices.

“What happened?” wailed Wen, “I had a magical boon!”

“The stone is gone, but the magic remains,” the witch oh-so-wisely replied. “The magic is found in the story – it’s always in the story.”

“But I wanted to use it to help people digest the sacred texts! I wanted to show them the way!” Wen protested.

“You can still show the way, but be forewarned; each person must find the magic for themselves,” the witch said cryptically and then she was gone.

Wen felt that she had heard something very profound – whatever it was – and she was content. She picked up her knitting, settled into her rocking chair and started to dream of her next adventure.

Lobby Display

We were nearing opening night and I still had to figure out how to bring it all home to the audience. I looked at the mountain of information I had (my director’s packet alone was 99 pages!) and decided on the four most important elements to include in my lobby display; the nuggets I felt would best connect and prepare the audience before they entered the theatre. I incorporated my research with quotes from the playwright and the script and created four posters:

Ancient Mythology: Trevor Robertson’s beautiful comic of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Modern-day Mythology: Linked the mythology of the 1950’s with the text of the play. Symbolism: A discussion of three of the most prevalent symbols – stone, water, and string. Signposts: A discussion of the absolute necessity of art, story and ritual in our lives.

Here are those four posters:

Dramaturgical Program Note When preparing my dramaturgical note for the program, I came to realize that I really didn’t have very much information on the playwright, Sarah Ruhl. So I decided to focus my note on her:

The Dear Eurydice Project Posters notwithstanding, the focal part of the lobby was The Dear Eurydice Project. All semester long we had been collecting letters from people about loss. The call for letters went out on the blog, facebook, listserves and extended through people involved with the production. An art student, Emily Decker, designed how the display would look and a UVU photography professor, John Rees, had two of his classes take pictures of loss.

It was simple; we hung the letters and photos on string and invited the audience members to add their own – and they did.

One of the most rewarding times for me was to watch people interact with this project. A common comment heard before the show was, “We ought to write a letter,” and then after they would come out and say, “I’m writing a letter.” We provided the materials and they sat down and wrote.

The following is the Dear Eurydice Project poster, and a small sampling of letters and photos:

To the Family that once was, I lost you between the days, between heavy sighs and astonished eyes. I lost you between the smiles and the lies. I lost you between certainty and uncertainty, between fear and love, between trust and mistrust. I lost you when you didn't listen, when I was no longer heard. I lost you and it was a surprise! But the context, the trust" is missing and there is only the letting go. And I love you, and somehown I know you love me too. I love you and thank you for the teachers you have been. I lost you years ago. And I love you and wish for my little brother who was once so playful, for my beautiful, younger sister, for my brother, who use to play with me outside on sunny days, for Mommy who wasn't really comforiable being a monrmy for Daddy, who tried to make it right ... I wish for you that you dream big and may the dreams manifest in loving and trustful ways. I wish for you loving relationships. I wish for you all the best, all the time, forever more. Love, Your Sister

I prayed that God would take away my feelings for you. Instead he took away your feelings for me. I miss you

Dear Past Me,

I lost my lack of responsibility. I, at times, desperately want it back. To be able to run with it, to immerse myself in it. Where did you go and why can’t I find you again? Is it because unlike Peter Pan, I have to grow up? You never know how blissfully unaware of how precarious life can be until you grow up and have to face it head one. Sometimes I don’t miss you at all, but I would be kidding myself if I said that I never imagine myself being with you again.

Love, Present Me

Here is a letter from an audience member:

Susan Griffith 10215 N. 6890 W. Highland, Utah 84003 (801)768-1297

December 15, 2011

Theater Department Utah Valley University

RE: Wendy Gourley as Dramaturg for Eurydice

To the Theater Department:

I attended Eurydice three different times during the run of the play. I loved the play and I’m very pleased it has been nominated and selected to go to KCACTF.

My family goes to many plays. We are long time season tickets holders to Hale Centre Theater in Orem and Pioneer Theater in Salt Lake. We annually attend the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and plays at the Tuacahn. We regularly attend plays at Sundance, BYU and UVU. We sometimes have season tickets to Broadway Across America and to Hale in West Valley City. We are a family that very much enjoys live theater.

I would like to explain the difference that the Dramaturg made in my enjoyment of Eurydice. The first night I attended I arrived at the theater just a few minutes before the play began. I barely had time to read the Director’s Note before the play began. I enjoyed the play, but had the distinct feeling that there were multiple levels of symbolism I was missing. I came back the following Monday with my children. This time we had time to read Wendy Gourley’s information about the playwright, Sarah Ruhl. This information was very helpful. The incredible experience followed the play when Wendy led the actors and some of the production staff in an open question and answer session with the audience. This was the first time I had ever experienced a “talk back.” I absolutely loved it. Even my nine-year-old was asking questions about the symbolism. Wendy Gourley did an outstanding job of fielding the questions and giving background in between responses from the actors and technical theater staff. I was astounded at how that experience added not only to my understanding, but also to the educational benefit it provided for my children.

I learned about the blog Wendy Gourley created for Eurydice prior to attending the third time. After looking at the wealth of information contained on that site, I was excited to go back to the play for my final experience. I learned there would be another “talk back” at the end of that performance. I can’t adequately put into words the difference that the blog and the talk backs had on my experience. I got

so much more out of the play. After seeing the blog, I wished that I had seen it prior to the first performance.

I strongly encourage the continued use of “talk backs” and blogs in your future performances. Although “talk backs” would not be appropriate for every play, I would definitely schedule my ticket purchases for the performances that had them if it were publicized. If I knew there was a blog for each play, I would go over it with my children before attending. I was so impressed with the substance on Wendy Gourley’s blog for Eurydice.

I always read the program from cover to cover at any play I attend. I love it when the Dramaturg adds details that make me feel connected to the play. I can honestly say that I’ve never attended a play where the Dramaturg has made such a profound difference in my experience with the play as Wendy Gourley did for Eurydice.

I should also note that my family enjoyed the “Letters” exhibit out in the lobby prior to the performance. We learned about the project and each member of the family contributed a letter. My youngest daughter was particularly thrilled to find her letter hanging in the lobby. That opportunity to contribute made my family feel particularly connected to the play.

Thank you for providing such a rich experience for my family. I hope that we will have more experiences like we had with Eurydice in the future.

Sincerely,

Susan Griffith

Play Review

Here is a review from the UVU Review that discusses The Dear Eurydice Project. I was slightly misquoted when discussing society, rituals and theatre, but that’s pretty par for the course with newspaper articles:

UVU Review:

“Eurydice” invites confrontation of difficult feelings

An old bicycle, a battered mailbox and a discarded tennis racket hung as if suspended in the faint mist that filled the Noorda Theater. Each item was stark white, as if all color had been drained. The eyes of about 60 audience members, in the intimate setting of the Noorda, were riveted on the actors throughout the 80-minute showing of “Eurydice” Monday evening, Oct. 17.

Prior to the show, attendants lounged in the foyer reading dozens of letters contained in the “Dear Eurydice Project.” These letters, addressed to loved ones lost, ranged from sentiments to friends who had taken their lives long ago to letters almost scolding fathers who chose not to stay connected with their children. Despite the somber setting created by the letters in the art project, playwright Sarah Ruhl was able to lace a little bit of humor into her interpretation of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Collin Thomas (left) and Cameron Garcia (right) read silently from the letters submitted to the "Dear Eurydice Project"

According to dramaturge Wendy Gourley, the contrast between sorrow and humor were meant to represent reality. Gourley, who was responsible for providing the director with research and background of the story, explained that Ruhl’s interpretation of the traditional Greek story was her way of dealing with the death of her father. “She wanted one more conversation with her dad, and the play was a way for her to have that,” Gourley said. The story is traditionally told from the perspective of Orpheus, Eurydice’s husband. Ruhl’s version, however, was centered around Eurydice, who during the course of the play had a chance to see her father in death, and get to know him in ways she never did in life.

Society, Gourley explained, doesn’t contain rituals through which loss can be adequately grieved the way that in can be through works of theater. This performance, if it didn’t provide audience members with a tool to deal with grief, it at least gave them the opportunity to approach any feelings of loss in an open-minded way. Feelings that Aubrey Bench, who played Eurydice, explained as universal. “Everyone’s lost someone or something,” Bench said, “so this play is accessible for everyone because everyone’s gone through these emotions at one point or another.”

After the conclusion of the show, audience members were able to interact with the cast, crew and director in a question and answer session they called a “talkback.” This unique addition to the performance will only be available after the Oct. 29 matinee and the Nov. 4 evening performance.

Talk Backs

The other thing I loved was the talkbacks. I led five talkback sessions. There was a sense for many audience members that they wanted to sit in the space after the show and process. For some that meant to think things through on their own, but others wanted to talk and each time our sessions were deep and insightful.

Beyond

So the show and my journey came to an end. Where do I go from here? I’m still posting more stories to the Dear Eurydice blogspot as I feel, along with the letters, it’s an important online repository of death-themed materials. I think that’s helpful. I am pursuing other dramaturgical and playwrighting projects. I have joined LMDA and the Dramatists Guild. I am writing and submitting plays. I have just started an ongoing play reading series at our large regional library, which is collaboration between the library, UVU, BYU and a couple of writer’s groups.

There were so many people who helped me on my journey. I had multiple impromptu conversations with students and faculty where they not only shared their thoughts and connections with me, but also ideas and information. People also willingly pitched in and helped, especially with the lobby display. I especially want to thank Dr. Lisa Hall Hagen. Truly she has been the “supernatural or magical helper” of my hero’s journey. The project was everything I had hoped it would be and has been an important part of my education at UVU – and I owe so much of that to Dr. Hagen. I end with her letter.