Metamorphoses Play: A Play

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The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Zimmerman, Mary. "Metamorphoses,” based on David R. Slavitt’s translation of “The Metamorphoses of Ovid.” Northwestern University Press, 2002. First Hardcover Edition. Following a short Prologue, the play’s overall narrative follows a structural pattern in which one dramatized myth from Greek mythology flows into another. Two key points to note about the piece’s style of presentation: it is intended to be staged in and around a large, onstage, pool of water; and the stories are told both through narration and through dramatization (i.e. acted out). Your guys tailored the content to different years and what those different years needed to get from it. They seemed well aware of curriculum demands which was very good and helpful… Our main focus was to have a live performance for years 11 and 13 to write about in their exam. The performance was so rich content regarding performance style, character and conventions. It has given them plenty of ‘moments’ to talk about and analyse.”

Bermejo-Rubio, Fernando: "Truth and Lies about Gregor Samsa. The Logic Underlying the Two Conflicting Versions in Kafka's Die Verwandlung”. In: Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, Volume 86, Issue 3 (2012), pp. 419–79. Climax— Erysichthon's hunger is so insatiable that he sells his own mother to a trader for money to buy more food A non-naturalistic play, Metamorphoses is presented as mythic rather than realistic. [8] :159 The use of myths essentially "lifts the individuals out of ordinary time and the present moment, and places him in "mythic time"—an ambiguous term for the timeless quality myths manifest." [8] :153 The setting of the play isn't limited to just one specific location. For example, the pool on stage transforms from "the luxurious swimming pool of nouveau riche Midas, the ocean in which Ceyx drowns, the food devoured by Erysichthon, Narcissus' mirror, a basin to hold Myrrha's tears, [and] the river Styx" [3] :624 and that the pool, like the stories transcend realistic thinking and are "suspended in space and time." [10] I spent the day in bed,” sang Morrissey recently in a song which urges workers to forget the commute and the emasculation of being an employee at least just for one day. Unfortunately Kafka’s ‘hero’ Gregor Samsa spends rather longer than that confined to his grimy quarters. Metamorphosis could also be viewed as a portrayal of mental health issues, with the door to Gregor’s room sometimes open, sometimes closed, members of his family either allowed entry or kept outside listening in.

Who are the creative team of Metamorphosis?

Director Emily Louizou adapts Kafka’s classic novella into a dance-theatre piece about being young and being made to feel alien by the people closest to you. This is not a piece about a man turning into an insect, but a piece about a family ostracising their own child. Founded in 2003 the company annually adapts a classic play and tours the country’s schools, colleges and evidently some theatres to both educate and entertain. Part of the point of the show is to highlight techniques for English and drama students such as Brechtian episodic structure, physical storytelling, choral precision, breaking the fourth wall, exaggerated characterisation, music, mime and puppetry. These feel slightly forced and unnatural at times in the larger dramatic sense, but that is part of the point of the exercise and should be bourne in mind, and the company deserve recognition for their efforts to elucidate such things in inspiring new generations into the theatrical arts. The attendant kids are clearly and eagerly engaged with this, shouting out answers to those questions and noisily reacting to events on stage. a b c d e f g h Garwood, Deborah (January 2003). "Myth As Public Dream: The Metamorphosis of Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses.". PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art. 25 (73): 74. doi: 10.1162/152028103321658346. S2CID 57562514. It’s a performance that reminds us how Kafka’s peculiar, existential anxiety continues to haunt us. Gregor in insect form is played by Bologna’s Nico Guerzoni, his feverish Italian dialogue meaningless to his family. Wearing matching pyjamas, Stopford watches him helplessly, as if having an out-of-body nightmare. Guerzoni is an alien in our presence, feared, misunderstood and, in due course, fumigated by figures in protective clothing.

Finger cymbals are used in the story of Midas, to indicate his footsteps after he has the power of transforming all he touches to gold. [5] :18 During the story of Phaeton, Apollo sings the aria "Un Aura Amorosa" from Così Fan Tutte by Mozart . Production history [ edit ] Mary Zimmerman was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1960. As a child she was introduced to the stories of the ancient Mediterranean world by Edith Hamilton's Mythology. While studying in England, a teacher read her The Odyssey. [4] Zimmerman was educated at Northwestern University, where she received a BS in theater, as well as an MA and PhD in performance studies. She is a full professor of performance studies at Northwestern. [22] Post-show discussion: join us after the 7.30pm performance of Metamorphosis on Thu 19 Oct for a post-show discussion with the cast of the show, chaired by the Associate Director. Rising Action— Ceres sends a servant to look for Hunger, Ceres' servant finds Hunger, Hunger embodies itself into Erysichthon, Erysichthon gorges on food a b c d e f g h Farrell, Joseph (Winter 2002). "Metamorphoses: A Play by Mary Zimmerman". The American Journal of Philosophy. 123 (4): 626.Phaeton: Son of Apollo, who after many years of neglect, finally confronts his father, convinces Apollo to let him have control of the sun, and burns the Earth. Phaeton reveals his story to the Therapist. Metamorphoses is a play by the American playwright and director Mary Zimmerman, adapted from the classic Ovid poem Metamorphoses. The play premiered in 1996 as Six Myths at Northwestern University and later the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago. The play opened off-Broadway in October 2001 at the Second Stage Theatre. It transferred to Broadway on 21 February 2002 at the Circle in the Square Theatre produced by Roy Gabay and Robyn Goodman. [1] That year it won several Tony Awards. a b WB Gooderham, "Kafka's Metamorphosis and its mutations in translation", The Guardian, May 13, 2015 In 1989, Nina Pelikan Straus wrote a feminist interpretation of Metamorphosis, noting that the story is not only about the metamorphosis of Gregor, but also about the metamorphosis of his family, and in particular, his younger sister Grete. Straus suggested that the social and psychoanalytic resonances of the text depend on Grete's role as woman, daughter, and sister, and that prior interpretations failed to recognize Grete's centrality to the story. [9]

Midas— The story is framed by the narration of three laundresses, who tell the story of King Midas, a very rich man. After Midas shuns his daughter for being too disruptive during his speech about caring for his family, a drunken Silenus enters and speaks of a distant land capable of granting eternal life. Silenus later falls asleep, and Midas shelters him in the cabana. When Bacchus comes to retrieve Silenus, he grants Midas a wish for his gracious care of Silenus. Midas asks to have whatever he touches turn to gold. Midas accidentally turns his beloved daughter into gold and is told by Bacchus to seek a mystic pool, which will restore him to normal. Midas leaves on his quest. The phrase "ungeheuren Ungeziefer" in particular has been rendered in many different ways by translators. [18] These include:

Volker Drüke (2013) believes that the crucial metamorphosis in the story is that of Grete. She is the character the title is directed at. Gregor's metamorphosis is followed by him languishing and ultimately dying. Grete, by contrast, has matured as a result of the new family circumstances and assumed responsibility. In the end – after the brother's death – the parents also notice that their daughter, "who was getting more animated all the time, [...] had recently blossomed into a pretty and shapely girl", and want to look for a partner for her. From this standpoint Grete's transition, her metamorphosis from a girl into a woman, is the subtextual theme of the story. [16] Translation of the opening sentence [ edit ] According to Peter-André Alt (2005), the figure of the beetle becomes a drastic expression of Gregor Samsa's deprived existence. Reduced to carrying out his professional responsibilities, anxious to guarantee his advancement and vexed with the fear of making commercial mistakes, he is the creature of a functionalistic professional life. [12] These issues aside, the troupe do a lot with very little which in many ways suits the brevity of Kafka’s text and its spare style. It’s an abbreviated, more focused telling of the story than the original that zeroes in on the central figure of Gregor in his crisis moment. Doing so some key episodes are left out or glossed over, the full details around Gregor’s death for example, and the small but telling section right at the end of the work with the Samsas on the tram to the countryside so easily forgetting what has happened in their home. The way that Splendid’s efforts adeptly zoom in and out on each character and the wider events, their energy, infectious spirit and mobility are admirable though. Pelikan Straus, Nina. Transforming Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Signs, 14:3, (Spring, 1989), The University of Chicago Press, pp.651–67.

One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.”

Pomona, Wood Nymph: A skilled gardener who refused to have a lover. Finally falls for Vertumnus after heeding his message and telling him to be himself. A new version of this nightmarish tale, written and directed by Emily Louizou, emphasises the physicality of the piece from the outset. The play begins while the audience is being seated. It’s five characters – rooted into a corner of the stage – perform repetitive movements in unison. Thanks to the talents of choreographer Ioli Filippakopoulou, their puppet-like jerk of hands and body thrusts create a hypnotic space.