By Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare. Produced by Perseverance Theatre
Some time in 2011 Brandon Demery, a very good actor in Alaska, asked me to work with him as he made a self-produced I am My Own Wife. Brandon loved the material and it said something important to him. In working with him on that piece every day, we came to deeply appreciate Doug Wright’s decision to make it a solo show, because seeing Brandon inhabit all the roles evoke how Charlotte’s role playing occurred every day of her life. The single actor was a choice that made the piece work beautifully
Similarly, An Iliad, which came to me when Bostin Christopher pitched it as something he’d like to do. Like I am My Own Wife, An Iliad has a great reason to be a solo show because this form evokes the ideal of Homer, as a poet/singer telling a tale to preserve collective memory. This endless-war story is tragically relevant to modern America. Having a well-written text for a solo show and an actor passionate about the challenge is a great start. Musically, I love the cello, and asked long time collaborator Lucy Peckham to join the project as composer/designer, and to play live, onstage. Lucy, Bostin, our Stage Manager and I decided to keep the creative team intimate, and to share all of our work on creating simple staging, lighting, costumes, and set. This approach kept it simple and focused on text, with a collaborative process beginning early. Because we planned the music in Pre-rehearsal we had a familiarity with our approach to the piece before we started working together daily. The music of the text and the score / sound design were satisfyingly integrated, and our commitment to make the spaces we performed in appear raw and appear unchanged help support the conceit that the poet had shown up that day, taken the measure of his audience, and delivered todays unique version of his epic and ancient tale.
“Bostin Christopher turns in an impressive performance -- that's an understatement -- in Perseverance Theatre's production "An Iliad." For most of two hours he keeps the audience completely engaged as he delivers the story of Homer's timeless epic in a tour de force of timing and emotion
… It's as if Homer were hanging out at the bar with you, throwing back drinks and saying, "You won't believe what I just saw at Troy. Lemme tell ya."
Christopher's character is identified as The Poet. He enters with a bag, coat and hat, like he just got off the bus. The set looks like a backstage area, with a few scattered props, a ladder, racks of lighting equipment.” — Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News Review, October, 2014. Click here for the full review
Set, Lights and Costumes designed by Ensemble. Music Composed and Sound Designed by Lucy Peckham
Stage Managed by Nikki Dawson
Bostin Christopher as The Poet
Lucy Peckham as the Musician
