originallyO’Hare and Peterson’s intent for An Iliad, however, the NYTWproduction will be the irst time in the ive years since O’Hare and Peterson began work on An Iliad that O’Hare takes on the role he helpedwrite.
Denis O’Hare, co-author and performer of An Iliad
Solo shows are often performed by their authors,whose unique voices and viewpoints are inseparable from their stories. This was
Stephen Spinella, performer of An Iliad
“In the beginning, Denis and I were making An Iliad to be performed by Denis – in fact, whole sections of the play are taken verbatimfromvarious improvisations thatDenis and I did – so that the some of the language came directly out of Denis’ head. But as things turned out, Denis wasn’t able to perform the premiere productions at Seattle Rep or subsequently at the McCarter. We were lucky enough to ind a wonderful Seattle actor, Hans Altwies, who was willing to put on the ‘coat’ for the irst full production in Seattle. And in Princeton,wewere blessedwith the amazing actor Stephen Spinella, who again was willing and able to put on the ‘coat’ – to learn the 100-minute version of the Iliad thatwe had developed overmore than ive years. Spinellawas so stunning as the Poet thatDenis and I decided itwould be right to share the NewYork premierewith him.” - Lisa Peterson
The decision to have both Spinella and O’Hare take on the role of the poet for the NYTW production also resonateswith howthe piecewas likely performed in ancient Greece.Over the course of O’Hare and Peterson’s work on the piece, they discoveredwhatwere called rhapsodes: ancient Greek performers
Urn Depicting a Greek Rhapsode Performing
who would lend their unique voices to popular epics such as the Odyssey and the Iliad. These professional storytellers would perform at annual festivals, as well as travel from town to town giving their personal renditions of epic poems. The greatest source of our information about these performers comes from Plato’s dialogue Ion, inwhich Socrates interviews one such performer. At festivals, rhapsodes would compete with one another for the adoration of the crowd. Peterson was amused by the resonance between this ancient competition and modern circumstance of having two actors alternate the role. Peterson explains: “this tickled us, because it seemed to describe our own experience of rehearsing side by side and celebrating what’s the same - and what isn’t - in two remarkable actors telling a profound and ancient story night after night.”
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