Theaterlab’s Gallery Series Presents:
The Odyssey : Book III in Ancient Greek
Conceived and performed by Joseph Medeiros
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Theaterlab’s Presents Joseph Medeiros in The Odyssey : Book Three in Ancient Greek as part of The Gallery Series. Joseph is memorizing Homer’s Odyssey in the original Ancient Greek and creating solo performances of individual books with the ultimate aim of performing the entire poem as a large-scale, 24-hour solo performance. He presents the text without simultaneous English translation, encouraging the audience to trust their intuition and fall into the language beyond its literal meaning. He does the first book of the poem in his living room for three people sitting on his couch. For book 2, he rides a box of props on the back of his bike out to perform al fresco in Central Park. The overall project strives to create idiosyncratic and unexpected renderings of a well-known (and well-worn) text in order to invite individuals to have fresh, and hopefully personal, encounters with it.Â
At Theaterlab, Joseph will work on book 3, exploring how to conjure a scene of 4,500 people sacrificing 81 bulls on a beach, a goddess suddenly turning into a vulture and flying back to the heavens, and a religious ritual that can echo across more than 3,000 years of human history : all in a way that can be packed into a carry-on suitcase and a briefcase and then traveled to people’s living rooms. All elements of the performance (lights, props, costumes, etc.) are managed and manipulated by the performer himself, taking the idea of the solo act to the extreme.
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MEET THE ARTIST
Joseph Medeiros has appeared on Broadway in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women, Groundhog Day, Matilda, Doctor Zhivago, Wicked, White Christmas, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Grease, Big, and Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater, Second Stage, The York Theater Co, and City Center. He is currently running three solo productions in rep: his original solo piece, The Study, and the first 2 books of the Odyssey. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Classics from Columbia University and a BFA in Musical Theater from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
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The Study is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of The Study must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donations of $100 or more include a ticket to the presentation in September. The value of a ticket to the presentation is $12. Any contribution above that amount is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
