Angela Zieleniewski

Angela Zieleniewski

The Muses Odeum Festival Theatre

Historically the Ancient Greeks are known for their contribution to the way we present theatre
today. From the structure of the theatre itself to the variety of shows presented to the public, the
Greeks have had a large impact on our modern art form. Zeus’ nine daughter known as “The Muses” are
the goddesses of art and literature and each represent a different art form from epic poetry to dance.
This theatre company is created in honour of the ancient Greeks contribution to theatre today and how
to has evolved into the many great classic works in the North American theatrical repertoire.

Mandate: The Muses Odeum Festival Theatre is a mobile theatre company presenting quality
productions in an outdoor setting. We offer the community an evolution of theatrical works including
Greek authors, William Shakespeare and classic North American repertoire. Each piece is chosen
specifically to represent one of The Muses and their domain.

Vision: This seasons set of productions focus’ on Ares, the Greek god of War. Entitling this
season as “The Battle”. Whether it is the struggle between families, cultures or civil uprising each
production this season deals with a struggle between two parties. This season deals with this theme
because it is something we all go through in life in many different ways. Everyone has their own share of
battles to overcome; no one gets through life without a few struggles here and there. These classic
pieces all display battles and how to get through them in various different aspects. We see two classic
authors display their views of battles, from Aristophanes’ playful view of the struggles between authors
to Shakespeare’s tragic tale of the struggle between two lovers. In this seasons evening show list we
have an interpretation by candlelight of Shakespeare’s classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the
battle of the love triangle as well as the battle of society told trough Arthur Miller’s retelling of the
Salem witch trials in The Crucible. This season dedicates itself to the many battles of human kind.

Artistic Statements
Calliope (Epic Poetry) –Greek Theatre- The Frogs by Aristophane
This show has been chosen to fit under the mandate of The Muses Odeum Festival Theatre because it is
a Greek piece of epic proportions and starts off our evolution of theatre. The Muse Calliope represents
“Epic Poety”, which the story of a hero. Dionysus is a hero within The Frogs because he is on a quest to
save tragic theatre in Athens. To be a hero one doesn’t always have to be saving a princess but can
simply be fighting for a cause, just as many of the world’s greatest hero’s have. This is a lighter Greek
piece written by Aristophane and is a good introduction into greek theatre for audiences unfamiliar with
the often tragic themes displayed within them. Each season in the Muses Odeum is meant to start with
greek theatre because it is some of the oldest works written and as the season moves along we move
into theatrical works written closer to our time period. The overall objective of this piece is to start off
the season reminding audiences where theatre originated from.

Melpomene (Tragedy) – Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

This show has been chosen to fit under the mandate of The Muses Odeum Festival Theatre because it is
a piece written by William Shakespeare and moves along within our timeline of works in the season. The
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Muse Melpomene represents “Tragedy”, a story that resolves without a happy ending. This classic
tragedy is a reminder to society of the pain of love and crossed families. Though our society has become
accustomed to the mix of cultures and families within relationships, not all cultures are so accepting of
this. Shakespeare sends a morbid message to society of the repercussions of unsupported love. Though,
it is a sad piece it is still an extremely popular play because of Shakespeare’s smooth poetic versus which
audiences love. The objective of this piece this season is to add to our timeline of classical works as well
as well as bring about some familiarity to our audience.

Urania (Astronomy)– A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

This show has been chosen to fit under the mandate of The Muses Odeum Festival Theatre because it is
a piece written by William Shakespeare and moves our timeline of works further along in the season.
The Muse Urania represents “Astronomy”, a story of the stars. That is why this piece is an evening piece
presented at night only lit by candle light and the night sky. It is important to have this piece in our
season to represent the sheer simplicity theatre can have only lit by candles and the voices of the artists.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was chosen to be the evening piece under the stars because of the
whimsical quality it brings to the stage. It is chosen to be in this season because it fits well with the
vision for the season and is a comedic choice for audiences to enjoy in the evening.

Clio ( History) – The Crucible by Arthur Miller

This show has been chosen to fit under the mandate of The Muses Odeum Festival Theatre because it is
a classic work well known to North American society. The Muse Clio represents “History” and is a great
match to this work because of the historical value it has to it. The crucible represents a time in society
when there was a great misunderstanding and fear towards many things as well as a corruption amoung
political figures and policies in place. Still today we see this misunderstanding and fear within our society
as well as corruption making Arthur Miller’s work still extremely relevant. This piece has been chosen to
be presented within this season because it moves to the end of our timeline in shows as well as fitting
very well into this seasons vision.

This Seasons Muses are:

Calliope (Epic Poetry) –Greek Theatre- The Frogs by Aristophane

“A Battle of the Authors” The god Dionysus is unsatisfied with the condition of Tragic Arts in
Athens, he decides to solve this problem by descending into Hades to bring back to earth one of the
greatest authors of tragedy, Euripides. He dresses himself up at Heracles and starts his frightening
expedition to the underworld. As he approaches the shores he is met by a chorus of Frogs greeting him
with prolonged croaking ( hence the title).After a few obstacles to pass Dionysus reaches the
underworld and trembles as he knocks on the gates of Hades fearful of what challenges lies beyond
him. He is admitted by the King of the Underworld known as Pluto. Not only is Euripides is summoned by
the King, but also Aeschylus who currently sits on the throne of tragic literature in Hades. A battle
ensues between the authors both using quotes from their best dramas and making fun of each others
versus. Eventually a pair of scales is brought in and each authors versus are weighed against one
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another. The powerful lines of Aeschylus’ old Aristophanic style lines win the battle and Dionysus
chooses to bring him back to the upper world.

Melpomene (Tragedy) – Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

“The Battle of Families” An ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet families disrupts
the city of Verona and causes tragic results for Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet who fall in love, but
cannot be together because of their opposing families. A secret marriage forces the young star-crossed
lovers to grow up quickly because Juliet is set to be wed to another. Juliet takes a sleeping potion that
makes her appear to be dead for 42 hours -- in this time Romeo is to be told that she is still alive,
however he perceives her as dead. In his pain he illegally purchased a poison so that he can be with
Juliet in death. He goes to her tomb and takes the poison. When Juliet awakes she sees him die at her
side and kills herself with a dagger.

Urania (Astronomy)– Shakespeare- A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

“The Battle of Love” The duke of Athens is preparing for his marriage to the queen of the
Amazons followed by a four day festival. The duke’s daughter Hermia enters the court with two suitors
of her own for marriage Demetrius and Lysander. Demetrius is in love with Hermia, but Hermia is in love
with Lysander. The duke insists Hermia marries Demetrius because he is a more acceptable suitor.
Hermia denies her father’s wishes, he warns that she will have to deal with the penalties of the law if
she disobeys. The duke is gives her till the day of her wedding to decide, but Hermia and Lysander
already have plans to run away together to be married. Hermia tells Demetrius’ previous love Helena of
their plan of escape. Hoping to regain Demetrius’ love Helena tells him on Hermia’s plans to elope, in a
jealous rage Demetrius stalks into the woods after his love and is followed by Hermia. In the forest
amongst the crazy love rectangle are fairies, love potions and actors. Through a struggle to obtain love
and potion mix-ups each lover ends up with the person they are meant to be with, Hermia with
Lysander and Helena with Demetrius.

Clio ( History) – Classic Repertoire - The Crucible by Arthur Miller

“ The Battle of Society” In a time of great paranoia the Salem Witch Trials are held to rid the
village of Salem of unholy witchcraft. A group of girl lead by Abigail go into the forest without permission
to dance and perform a ritual, though the girls are caught by the towns minister Parris. In being caught
the youngest of the girls collapses unconscious. Rumors of witchcraft fill the town and an expert is called
in to check up on the young girl. Abigail encourages the other girls to not tell a soul what they had done.
As the worry and paranoia begins Abigail finds herself with John Proctor, an older man she had engaged
in an affair with earlier in the year while working for his family leading to her being fired by his wife
Elizabeth. When the young girl finally awakes from her unconscious slumber she and Abigail claim that
they had seen the devil conspiring with some of the townspeople and begin to call them witches. As the
Salem witch trials begin and people of the town start being condemned to death Abigail see’s the
perfect opportunity to rid of Elizabeth so she can be with John. Abigail accuses Elizabeth of being a witch
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and she is put to trial. Feeling the guilt of his affair and the love for his wife John defends his wife on trial
ultimately condemning himself to death.

In conclusion these artists were chosen because of their strong literary skill and impact their talents
have had on society. Greek theatre and Shakespearean theatre are important to my company because
they represent where theatre started, they are the root of many of the pieces created for the stage
today. Arthur Miller’s writing is also still relevant to our modern society no matter what time period his
shows are set in. He has made the stories presented on stage, like The Crucible, pieces that will always
have an impact on its audiences today and audiences of the future. I have always believed in the literary
criticism of Northrop Frye which states in simple terms “All stories come from other stories”, many of
the plays and literature we have today are tales of the past that are re-invented for our modern day
society. It’s important to remember and continue to interpret these classic pieces because of their
continued relevance in today’s society and in new literature.