In Eurydice, Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story.
This production explores themes of grief and loss through lightness and sincerity. It is about memory and loss and how the brain and the heart deal with death and grief. It is epic in the way that personal, small stories with big emotions are epic. This play is relevant for all times, but especially for a moment in which the world is experiencing loss on such a large scale. The playwright, Sarah Ruhl, in an essay called “Calvino and Lightness” describes her approach to the subject matter saying, “What if lightness is a philosophical choice to temper reality with strangeness, to temper the intellect with emotion, and to temper emotion with humor.” This philosophy defines what the director thinks post-pandemic theatre should be, theatre that speaks to what we went through without forcing us to re-live it. Eurydice is a great work for this because while it is about death, it is also sweet, comic, strange, and beautiful. There is an inherent lightness to the drama, that is open and vulnerable without being devastating. This, in particular, makes it ideal material for student artists.
The vision for this play will be one of high concept design and simple, but fully embodied performances. This production will be a piece of physical theatre, in which the physicality is pushed beyond that of “everyday” movement, especially for the Stones. The production will explore the Greek tradition of solo and chorus, and how text can be physicalized by the movement of each.
Students shall understand the genre of abstract in design and performance, gain an understanding of Classical Greek Tragedy performance characteristics, such as direct address, solo, and chorus, and will develop characters, designs, and marketing collaboratively with directors and instructors.
This show is open to all primes and grade levels.
Audition details: Both Eurydice and Sleepy Hollow will audition the same dates 8/30, 8/31, 9/1. Students interested in either show should have a short monologue prepared. Auditions will also include those interested in supporting the process as part of the stage management team. Additional audition dates would be November 28th, 29th, 30th. We will post support documents and audition specifics on this site on August 10.
AUDITION INFORMATION
Rehearsals will run Monday-Thursday during Extended Day starting December 1 (the start of Winter Trimester). This project requires additional rehearsals outside of the Monday-Thursday Extended Day timeframe including Saturday December 3rd, Saturday February 25th, and extended evening rehearsal time March 14th to 17th.
Performances are scheduled for March 17, 18, 24, & 25 at Studio 39.
This special project extends across the Winter and Spring Trimesters. Students would not be able to register for additional Extended Day opportunities that meet face-to-face.
*Note: This production and the Annapolis High School Drama Company production are scheduled for the same time period. Cast and crew would not be able to do both.
