The Cochrane High School Performing Arts ensemble will be presenting The Penelopiad from Dec. 9-12 at the school.
The play, written by Margaret Atwood, is a re-telling of Homer’s The Illiad and The Odyssey from a female perspective.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus is the king of Ithica and Penelope is his faithful wife. After returning home from a long journey, Odysseus finds that he has been betrayed by his wife’s maids, so he kills them.
According to the group’s website, “the killing of Penelope’s maids, by that supposed hero, Odysseus, comprised just two lines in Homer’s The Odyssey.”
“It’s (the maids’) story because they never got a voice in their life,” said Kennedy Bolstad, a grade 12 student at Cochrane High and one of the play’s performers.
The play is important to the group because of the message it delivers.
“In history we don’t have female perspective where we should,” Ben Janko, performing arts teacher at the high school and the play’s director.
“I think (this play) speaks to people today (who are) in conflict across the world and have no voice.”
The play is suitable for ages 14 and up and will feature a mix of acting as well as movement choreographed to poetry and music.
“It deals with a lot of content that’s tough for some people but we feel like they’re words that need to be said,” said Mackenzie Ireland, a Grade 11 student at the school and another one of the play’s performers.
According to Janko, the ensemble has worked extremely hard to put the play together, with the students committing “250 hours of rehearsal after school.”
This play required more effort than usual because the group had to compose its own music along with choreography to coincide with text.
Janko was comfortable in taking on a more time-consuming production because of how well the students had been working with one another over the last two to three years.
“The process we had (with this play) has been fueled by how close they are and how comfortable they are working with each other.”
“We’ve had the best rehearsals we’ve ever had (as a group) for this play,” said Bolstad.
Audience members can expect a performance that’s “interesting from start to finish”.
“Keep an open mind – don’t shut out anything that happens,” said Ireland.
The show starts at 7 p.m. each night and tickets can be purchased for $15 each at the door or in advance at the school’s office.
