'A Midsummer Night's Dream - HIPPOLYTA's Dissappearance' - A solo performance (2016/17)
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Concept & Creation
Video/film/Performance/Scene Design & production/Costume Design & Production Lighting Design/Sound Design: Karola Lüttringhaus Actors in films Hermia's father: Bob Workmon Lysander: Bill Donovan (camera and acting) Hippolyta: Karola Luettringhaus Helena: Rachael Crawford Goolsby camera: Karola Luettringhaus Music Behind the veil: Karola Luettringhaus In front of the veil: Samuel Allen Taylor The song Lysander writes for Hermia: Bill Donovan Text excerpts from William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Duration: 60 minutes About 'Hippolyta's Disappearance' 'Hippolyta's Disappearance' is inspired by the play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare. Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen, who lost a battle to Theseus and will be subjugated to him by marriage does not get much attention in the play, but she, I believe intentionally, holds a pivotal role; she encompasses the social place of women as she gets absorbed into a patriarchal society and a marriage that seals her personal fate, and be extension, that of all women. Hippolyta represents another era, another part of ourselves that women, over centuries, lost and have a hard time grasping: completeness, authority, autonomy, assertiveness and aggression. 'Hippolyta's Disappearance' is about gender identity and gender relations in the greater scheme of things, and about identity of the individual. Hippolyta's struggle for authority and autonomy is reflected in all the other female characters, Helena, Hermia and Titania, the Fairy Queen; her attitude towards the actors speaks of the role and position of theatre in society. The original 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is an extremely complex social critical commentary on marriage, patriarchy, social and political hierarchy and on the inconstancy of love and human emotion in general. The play also takes an important stance on the powerful political and social impact of theatre. Every aspect of the play is still current today. Hippolyta is the counterpoint to Theseus. Both represent a split between the sexes, which is mirrored in all other couples including Oberon and Titania. Hippolyta is a myth, something uncertain, slowly dissappearing further and further out of sight. She is an Amazon warrior queen. She represents the qualities usually attributed to males: aggression, dominance, fight, authrotity, autonomy, power, leadership, etc. Hippolyta is the metaphor for that which women fight for, for that which they have lost over time. In 'Hippolyta's Disappearance' one character slips into the various different situations of the play, merging with a current day persona and the mythological Hippolyta, telling the story of wholeness, of being complete without a male counterpart. |
video (full piece, June 2nd, 2017)
This project is supported by:
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