Iliad: Notes

Zoom Meeting #1, 7/8/20 (Present: Scott, Sherwood, Tom, Lenora, Angela)

Dear Lenora, Scott, Sherwood, and Tom:

Below is my recollection of our discussion. Please feel free to edit, or to contact me with corrections! Maybe my recollection will not reflect what you remember, or maybe I left things out.

Steps to hosting An Iliad:

  1. Lenora and Angela adjust storyboard. Have ready by the last week of July when all the focus areas meet. (We might not be done by then.)

  2. Secure commitment from Brad Delzer and Tom Weaver of True North Theater. Done!

  3. Ask Joseph Osborne if he will play the lyre during the play. Brad will help us.

  4. Schedule Zoom meeting with Brad for 7/22/20 at 10:30 AM. Done!

  5. At the meeting: potential questions for Brad (Updated with answers): 1. What is the best way to request that Joseph Osborne play the lyre? Brad will help. Joseph lives in Carlisle and is retired; it’s likely that he will be available. 2. RRH, or elsewhere, as a venue? See #6 below. 3. background images and a sparse set, Did not ask yet. See #6 below. 4. how many performances? times of day? Possibly: three performances, two evening, one daytime. Tom is a high school teacher, so evenings and weekends are better for him. 5. What will Brad, Tom, and Joseph need to perform this play? 6. Is there a possibility of an abridged version for elementary/middle school? No, but the actor, Tom, is a high school theater teacher and would probably be willing to address a high school audience. 7. Format: introduction, then play, then panel discussion. Brad agrees to the format and will probably do the introduction. At some point, we will need data about cost, including travel and honoraria. Is that something to discuss at this meeting or a future one? We agreed to discuss later.

  6. Decide on venue. Angela suggests Rubendal Recital Hall, all are open to this, final decision pending. Other options: HUB theater, ATS, ?

    Further information needed to make a final decision: check with Brad (theater dir.) regarding theatrical needs, and Jennifer Love (key member of Margee Ensign’s staff at Dickinson) regarding availability. Brad notes that True North Theatre has a mission of reaching out to populations who don’t usually go to the theater. They perform in spaces where the audience already gathers, e.g., the public library. Additionally, they like to perform with the lights on and with everyone seated on flat ground. They prefer no more than 75 audience members, 100 max. However: we want to reach a large number of people. Perhaps we can have one performance at RRH, and one or two in alternate spaces, to meet a broader population? We discussed briefly through e-mail, with more discussion anticipated. Possibilities mentioned: AHEC indoors (partition available to make space larger or smaller), or outdoors with bleachers), Ribbon Mill on W. Louther St., Franklin Community Center on W. Franklin St., Carlisle High School space for students.

  7. Schedule Zoom meeting with Jennifer Love. Done. Agenda: Sherwood introduce Jennifer to Lenora and Angela, explain our plans. Inquire about availability of RRH and other venues. Let her know we would like to contact some professors to help develop the production and keep her in the e-mail loop. Update: Jennifer notes: at that point in the semseter, the music department has few performances, so it’s likely that RRH will be available.

  8. After venue is chosen and secured: choose a development team. If RRH, and if Brad agrees to background images and minimalist set: consider Todd Wronski, director of Dickinson Theater Dept. (Sherwood knows him), Robert Pound, music professor whose composition Orbit of the Soul was presented as a one man musical at RRH (Sherwood and Angela know him), Sherry Harper-McCombs, theater professor who designed the set for Robert Pound’s event (Angela knows her). Others?

  9. Identify a team to present an introduction to the play and a discussion panel afterward. This might vary if audience varies, e.g., if there is a performance for high school/younger students. Possibilities: John Livecchi, high school teacher of Homer for thirty-eight years and poet; Dickinson Classics professor Marc Mastrangelo; An Iliad Actor Thomas Weaver and Director Brad Meltzer. Invite them. Keep Jennifer Love informed. Update: Brad is willing to offer an introduction.

  10. Inquire about securing copies of Simone Weil’s The Poem of Force from Pendleton Hill. Scott has a relationship with the company. Is Scott going to do this indepndently? Or connect Lenora and Angela?

  11. Identify others for outreach, e.g., home school community, teachers in the schools. Consider: Kevin Wagner, head of Carlisle High School history department; John McGuire, Ellie Park, other CHS English teachers; World History teacher; elementary and middle school teachers. Lenora is tightly connected to the home school community.

  12. Plan publicity (e.g., posters, interviews/features in The Sentinel, The Patriot, Good Day PA news program, radio, ?). Update: Brad recommends contacting Scott Lamar of local public radio. Brad knows him and will help us connect.

  13. Question from Angela: could we have an accompanying program for parents and children, e.g., the CCC half hour cartoon of The Odyssey broadcast at the Carlisle Theater? Perhaps on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon? Video clip here. Are there other productions to supplement the play, e.g., something appropriate for middle schoolers, and/or adults who might not attend the play? Brief video background, perhaps for middle school? Video clip here.