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Prometheus Bound

A new translation by Joel Agee
Directed by Travis Preston

World Premiere
September 5–28, 2013

Presented by the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa
Produced by CalArts Center for New Performance in association with Trans Arts

For this production, envisioned by director Travis Preston and scenic designer Efren Delgadillo Jr., the Outdoor Theater at the Getty Villa plays host to a five and a half-ton steel wheel to create a bold and brutal visual centerpiece for one of the most profound and theatrically unique ancient dramas.

Featuring poet Joel Agee’s heartfelt and faithful new translation, Preston’s forceful Prometheus Bound places the drama at the edge of civilization—and at the border between ritual and artistic expression—to explore injustice and man’s relationship to the eternal order of the cosmos. Composer Ellen Reid and celebrated jazz multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia provide an original score, performed live by Golia.

In the mythic tradition, the Titan Prometheus, progenitor and champion of humankind, steals fire from Mount Olympus to give to mortals. In this play, he also teaches them crafts and skills essential for human civilization. As punishment, Zeus dooms him to an eternity chained to a mountaintop, where Prometheus spends his days and nights railing against the gods and their injustices.

Featured Artists

Prometheus is played by Ron Cephas Jones, a celebrated New York-based actor, whose credits include the title role in Richard III for the Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival and Caliban in The Bridge Project’s The Tempest, which was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Old Vic in London, and on tour in Asia and France.  Jones’ previous classical roles include Othello (directed by Rupert Goold, artistic director of the Almeida Theater in London) and Ajax at the American Repertory Theater. His performance in Labyrinth Theater Company’s Jesus Hopped the A Train was lauded in both the United States and London, and for his performance in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running, Jones received a 2007 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in the Theater. His film work includes the soon to be released Titus, in which he plays a jazz musician attempting to come to terms with his troubled past.

Mirjana Jokovic plays Io.  Her distinguished career in the United States includes work on Broadway (Electra), at the American Repertory Theatre (Full Circle, Winter’s Tale, Mother Courage, Othello), San Francisco’s ACT (Three Sisters), and the McCarter Theatre in New Jersey (Romeo and Juliet).  Her film work includes Serbian Girl, Vukovar, A Better Way to Die, and the leading role in Emir Kusturica’s Underground, which won the Palme d`Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.  Ms. Jokovic currently serves as Director of Performance at the CalArts School of Theater.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Travis Preston, Director
Joel Agee, Translation
Vinny Golia and Ellen Reid, Co-Composers
Ellen Reid, Musical Director
Mira Kingsley, Choreographer
Efren Delgadillo Jr., Scenic Design
Ellen McCartney, Costume Design
Anne Militello, Lighting Design
Gary Kechely, Production Manager
Bill Honigstein, Technical Director
Andy Hanlen, LA ProPoint (Engineering)
Lee Chong, LA ProPoint (Engineering)
Fred Fitzgerald, Production Stage Manager
Carol Bixler, Producer
Ron Cephas Jones, Prometheus
Miriana Jokovic, Io
Michael Blackman, Hermes
Adam Haas Hunter, Kratos
Joseph Kamal, Ocean
Bernard Addison, Ocean Alternate
Tony Sancho, Haphaestus
Sarah Beaty, Chorus
Kaitlin Cornuelle, Chorus
Genevieve Gearhart, Chorus
Jennifer Greer, Chorus
Heather Hewko, Chorus
Paula Rebelo, Chorus
Jessica Reed, Chorus
Megan Rippey, Chorus
Chuja Seo, Chorus
Kalean Ung, Chorus
Amanda Washko, Chorus
Tatiana Williams, Chorus
Vinny Golia , Musician
Chris Lopes , Musician
Rachel Park, Assistant Director
Paul Turbiak, CalArts Assistant
David Moyer, Assistant Costume Design
Jonathan Lebovic, Assistant Lighting Design
Amanda Eno, Stage Manager
Kathryn Eipl, Assistant Stage Manager
Ewa Czerniawska, Assistant Production Manager
Jiang “Tony” Zhu, Assistant Production Manager
John Henningsen, Associate Producer