The classics department might normally get the brush-off, but not after this intersession. The students in Robert Powers's intersession class, Retelling the Ancient Story, worked together to produce 10 short plays and films that revised old myths into scandalous new stories.
The students had two weeks to hatch their original takes on old tales, adding flavor, modernizing and changing major plot points (sometimes). The result was Promiscuous Prometheus, a night of creativity and unabashed humor.
The myths that the films and plays are based on aren't always obvious, but that's a good thing. It makes for an entertaining mix: familiar favorites along with those that are unfamiliar and exciting to discover.
There was never a dull moment, even between pieces — when there was too much dead space during set changes, actors stepped onstage to tell jokes. And the audience's enthusiasm more than made up for its modest size (hey, it's intersession), creating an atmosphere of tangible enjoyment. Kicking off the evening was Reid Vanderlinden and Mike Zikoski's short film Not Another Teen Mythology, the hilarious (and ultimately tragic) modern tale of Apollo and Daphne. Despite technical difficulties, the audience laughed throughout at the amusing dialogue and well-placed profanity. The show as a whole was not for viewers with delicate ears.
The second film, Rape of Persephone by Tippy Patrinos, told the story of Persephone's kidnapping, a more traditional take. But the actresses (female Hades and Zeus) and props (Jack Skellington décor in the underworld) translated the story into something very different.
The first of three plays, Yasmine Holloway's Between Love and Reason, impressed with its dramatic delivery, funny dialogue and the actors' obvious heart. A tweaked take on Jason and Medea, the play painted Medea as a strange sorceress quick to zap puppies (and people) dead. It's understandable that her father was keen for her to move out.
Aaron Enten's play The Sun's Eye deftly integrated technological special effects into the flow of the action and dropped enough Pokémon, Donkey Kong and other pop culture references to make the most discerning fan happy. Alina Pak treated us to Hopkins students costumed as Lady and the Tramp-esque dogs in her play The Sacrifice of the Lady, complete with ears, whiskers and a plate of spaghetti.
After a tiny intermission came the final five films. By the time the first, Jessica Noviello's Sotto Voce, was over, it was clear the entire class had really come together to produce each others' pieces.
Actors appeared in multiple plays and films, but they moved between roles with ease, going from muscled misogynists to gallant princes without batting an eye. Sotto Voce was familiar territory for the actors, moving Echo and Narcissus onto the modern college campus.
Next Andre Phillips switched off the colors for his neo-noir retelling of the Arachne myth, An Unfortunate Meeting, complete with sharp suits and shiny pistols. Chris Hynes used Ovid's Lycaon as inspiration for Man Transformed Into Wolf, a tale of rapping and drug dealing with quite a soundtrack. The contemporary songs featured in all the films were well-chosen, both dramatic and funny.
The ninth piece definitely took the prize for most disturbingly violent. There were two smotherings that night, but in Anna Noronha's film Snap the deed was done with a Barbie. The night ended on a monstrous note with Elizabeth Katzki's Trash, showing us Medusa's transformation into a hideous creature.
Promiscuous Prometheus was two hours of unparalleled enthusiasm. The pieces had more polish and pizzazz than one would expect from two weeks of work, and the collection displayed the diverse talent at Hopkins in every major from biomedical engineering to physics.
