METAMORPHOSES PRIMER.

You don't need to be a Roman scholar to fall in love with Mary Zimmerman's glorious epic, but we've included a few items in this Metamorphoses "primer" to help you feel superior during your post-show-driving-home-chat.

1. THEME.
2. SPECTACLE.
3. MUSIC.
4. WHO'S WHO.
5. THE STORIES.
6. ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT.



THEME.

The central idea of "Metamorphoses" is the concept of change. To metamorphose literally means to change strikingly the appearance or character of something. "Metamorphoses" is full of instances of change, with each story told containing at least one example (Midas changing all he touched to gold, Alcyone and Ceyx changing to seabirds, Baucis and Philemon changing to trees, and so on).

This theme of change is strongly tied to the reliance of the play upon water. Not only does the water change function throughout "Metamorphoses," but water itself is described as the most protean of elements. In transforming her early version of the play (origanlly called "Six Myths") into its final form, the most important change was the addition of the pool.

Zimmerman's masterpiece also examines the causes of change in human beings. In other words, what can make a person become something completely different? The most prevalent cause throughout "Metamorphoses" is love. The play also warns of what happens when love is ignored.

The central idea of "Metamorphoses" can be defined as the changing power of love. Mary Zimmerman herself stated that the story "makes it easy to enter the heart and to believe in greater change as well... that we all can transform."

Learn more by reading Jim Riley's Dramaturg's Notes.



SPECTACLE.

The Set. The primary feature in any production of "Metamorphoses" is the pool. Our is located in an ancient space and occupies the entire stage. The pool is central to all of the stories told and its function changes throughout. The pool becomes, at varying times, a swimming pool, a washing basin, the River Styx, and the ocean. Other times, the water plays a symbolic role, expressing emotion, or visualizing the metamorphosis a character has undergone. According to Zimmerman, "the water is the most brilliant and consistent performer in the play."

The Costumes. coming soon!
The Lighting. coming soon!



MUSIC.

Director Robert W. Prosch has chosen three pieces of music by Jacques Brel for this production:

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WHO'S WHO.



Alcyone was the daughter of Aeolus. She married Ceyx, son of Eosphorus, the Morning Star.

Aphrodite was the great Olympian goddess of beauty, love, pleasure and and procreation. She was depicted as a beautiful woman usually accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror.

Apollo was the great Olympian god of prophecy and oracles, healing, plague and disease, music, song and poetry, archery, and the protection of the young. He was depicted as a handsome, beardless youth with long hair and various attributes including:--a wreath and branch of laurel; bow and quiver; raven; and lyre.

Bacchus was the great Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure and festivity. He was depicted as either an older bearded god or a pretty effeminate, long-haired youth. His attributes included the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped staff), drinking cup, leopard and fruiting vine. He was usually accompanied by a troop of Satyrs and Mainades (female devotees or nymphs).

Baucis (see The Stories below)

Ceres was the great Olympian goddess of agriculture, grain, and bread, the prime sustenance of mankind. She also presided over the foremost of the Mystery Cults which promised its intiates the path to a blessed afterlife. Demeter was depicted as a mature woman, often crowned and holding sheafs of wheat and and a torch.

Ceyx, son of Eosphorus (the Morning Star), married Alcyone.

Cinyras was married to Metharme, the daughter of the Cyprian king, Pygmalion, by whom he had several children. One of them was Adonis, whom, according to some traditions, he begot unwittingly in an incestuous intercourse with his own daughter, Myrrha.

Eros was the mischievous god of love and constant companion of the goddess Aphrodite.

Eurydice, daughter of Spartre, the Naiad Nymph of Sparta, and wife of Orpheus.

Erysichthon (see The Stories below)

The Fates (or Moirae) were the goddesses of fate who personified the inescapable destiny of man.

Hades was the King of the Underworld, the god of death and the dead. He presided over funeral rites and defended the right of the dead to due burial. Haides was also the god of the hidden wealth of the earth, from the fertile soil with nourished the seed-grain, to the mined wealth of gold, silver and other metals.

Hermes was the great Olympian God of animal husbandry, roads, travel, hospitality, heralds, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, writing, persuasion, cunning wiles, athletic contests, gymnasiums, astronomy, and astrology. He was also the personal agent and herald of Zeus, the king of the gods. Hermes was depicted as either a handsome and athletic, beardless youth, or as an older bearded man. His attributes included the herald's wand or kerykeion (Latin caduceus), winged boots, and sometimes a winged travellers cap and chlamys cloak.

Hunger (or Limus) was spirit (daimon) of hunger and starvation. Her opposite number were the goddess of food, Ceres, and her daimon Ploutos (Plenty).

Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, the messenger of the Olympian gods. She was often represented as the handmaiden and personal messenger of Hera. Iris was a goddess of sea and sky--her father Thaumas "the wondrous" was a marine-god, and her mother Elektra "the amber" a cloud-nymph.

Lucina was the goddess of childbirth and labour pains. She is also known as Ilithyia or Natio ("Birth").

Midas (see The Stories below)

Morpheus was the leader of the Oneiroi, the gods or spirits (daimones) of dreams. He manifested himself in the dreams of kings and rulers in the likeness of men as a messenger of the gods.

Myrrha was the daughter of Cinyras and and the mother of Adonis.

Narcissus was a young man from the town of Thespiai in Boiotia, a son of the river-god Kephisos and the fountain-nymph Liriope. He was celebrated for his beauty, and attracted many admirers but, in his arrogance, spurned them all. The suffering of two, however, brought down upon him a deadly curse.

The Oread (or Oreiades) were the beautiful Nymphs of the trees, groves, woods and mountain forests. They were the ladies of the oaks and pines, poplar and ash, apple and laurel. For those known as Hamadryades, trees sprung up from the earth at their birth, trees to which their lives were closely tied. While the tree flourished, so did its resident nymph, but when it died she passed away with it.

Orpheus, the son of Apollo and Calliope, was with the lyre by Apollo, and instructed by the Muses in its use, he enchanted with its music not only the wild beasts, but the trees and rocks upon Olympus, so that they moved from their places to follow the sound of his golden harp. His wife was Eurydice.

Pandora was the very first woman who was formed out of clay by the gods.

Persephone was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Hades. She was the goddess of spring growth, and daughter of Zeus and Ceres.

Phaeton (see The Stories below)

Philemon (see The Stories below)

Pomona (see The Stories below)

Poseidon was the great Olympian god of the sea, rivers, flood and drought, earthquakes, horses (and swimming pools).

Psyche (see The Stories below)

Silenus was the companion and tutor to Bacchus.

Tantalus committed a taboo and was forced to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches raised his intended meal from his grasp. Whenever he bent down to get a drink, the water receded before he could get any. This fate has cursed him with eternal deprivation of nourishment.

Vertumnus is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will. (see Story below)

Zeus was the king of the gods, the god of sky and weather, law, order and fate. He was depicted as a regal man, mature with sturdy figure and dark beard. His usual attributes were a lightning bolt, royal sceptre and eagle.



THE STORIES.

"Metamorphoses" is staged as series of vignettes:

Cosmology.
A creation story used to introduce the audience to the style and setting of the play.

Midas.
After sheltering the drunken Silenus in his cabana, Bacchus grants Midas one wish. Midas asks for the ability to have whatever he touches turn to gold, but accidentally touches his daughter, thereby transforming her into a golden statue.

Fate: A Premonition of Death

Alcyone and Ceyx
Ignoring his wife’s warnings, Ceyx voyages into the ocean to visit an oracle. Poseidon destroys Ceyx’s ship, killing him in the process. Alcyone has a dream of Ceyx who tells her to go to the shore. The two are reunited, transformed into birds, and fly away together.

The Dichotomy of Love

Erysichthon and Ceres.
Erysichthon, a godless man, cuts down a tree sacred to the goddess Ceres. Ceres commands the spirit Hunger to give Erysichthon an insatiable appetite. Erysichthon eventually succumbs to his endless hunger and devours himself.

Hades and Persephone: A God’s Passion

Orpheus and Eurydice.
After marrying his beloved Eurydice, Orpheus is devastated when a snake bites his bride on their wedding day. Orpheus travels to the Underworld to retrieve her. Hades allows Eurydice to return with Orpheus on one condition: she must follow Orpheus from behind and he cannot look at her. Orpheus agrees, but at the last minute, he looks behind at Eurydice and loses her to Hades.

Man’s Ascendancy

“Narcissus”

Pomona and Vertumnus
A female wood nymph falls for the shy Vertumnus who decides to disguise himself in order to see her. After telling her a story, Pomona tells Vertumnus to take off his disguise and the two fall in love.

Myrrha

Music Interlude
Randy Newman’s “Political Science”

Phaeton
Phaeton has a strained relationship with his father, Apollo. He journeys to meet his father, who feels guilty over his neglect of Phaeton and allows him to drive the sun across the sky. Phaeton drives the sun too close to the earth and scorches it.

Love’s Healing Power

Eros and Psyche
The story of Eros (also known as cupid), the god of love and lust who is depicted as blind, winged, and naked. Eros falls in love with Psyche, who questions love, but eventually returns Eros’ love for her.

Baucis and Philomen: The Balance of Love
Zeus and Hermes disguise themselves as beggars on earth to know what it is like to be human. After being shunned by every person they meet, they are accepted into the house of Baucis and Philemon. In return, the gods grant the couple a wish. They ask to die at the same time to save each other from the grief of death. When the time comes, the couple transform into a pair of trees with branches intertwined.
ACT TWO.

Love’s Redemption: Midas and Daughter



ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT.

“I’ve always loved fairy tales. I think they perhaps led me to theater rather than the other way around. As a child I wanted to invent a machine that could record my dreams, so I could watch them in the morning; or hire someone to draw the things I had in my head, because I knew I didn’t have the skill to do it myself. Theater is that machine. I can make these images come to life and actually walk around inside them for a while.” -- Mary Zimmerman

Mary Zimmerman is the recipient of a 1998 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director and 10 Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best Production and Best Direction. She is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company of Chicago, an Artistic Associate of the Goodman and Seattle Repertory Theatres and a Professor of Performance Studies at Northwestern University . Works which she has adapted and directed include The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Seattle Rep), The Odyssey (Seattle Rep), Arabian Nights, Journey To The West, "Metamorphoses" (Seattle Rep), The Secret in the Wings and Eleven Rooms of Proust (Lookingglass, About Face).

“It was this surreal, incredibly moving, very, very strange experience,” Zimmerman recalls. “A friend said it was like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney, except you’re sobbing the whole time.”

Zimmerman was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship, and in 2002 she won the Tony for Best Director for "Metamorphoses."



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SPECIAL THANKS.

Paul Busch; Craig Carlson, John Vanderzicht Memorial Pool; Rico Chiarelli Pacific Northwest Ballet; China City; Mike Cotton; The Everett Herald; Sue Frause, Whidbey Island Life; Frontier Building Supply; Gemkow Construction; Island Country Fire District #3; Christina Parker; Sound Publishing, South Whidbey School District; Challis Stringer, City of Langley; The Whidbey Daily; The Whidbey Examiner; and Whidbey Marketplace and News

Metamorphoses is produced by special arrangement with Bruce Ostler, Bret Adams, LTD.