I’ve started work on an adaptation of the Prometheus myth, and my research I found an interesting part of the story I didn’t know before. I knew previously that Prometheus had stolen fire from Mount Olympus and given it to the humans, and for that plot he was chained to a mountain and had his liver devoured daily for eternity. Which, yikes.
What I never knew- and honestly never questioned- was why Prometheus had to steal in the first place. Well in several iterations of the story, Prometheus had made a fool of Zeus with a switcheroo prank, which made Zeus so rageful that he took all fire and light away from humans (whom Prometheus had created). It was like this: Zeus wanted the humans to show him tribute so he told Prometheus to teach the humans how to sacrifice a bull. The humans would get all the crappy meat and the gods would be given the tribute of the finest parts of the animal. But Prometheus, trickster that he was, disguised the inedible meat in a layer of juicy fat, and disguised the prime cut in a layer of guts. When Zeus saw the two piles- superficial ass that he often was- he took the pile with the good looking meat on top. When he went to eat and found the guts and gristle under the top layer of fat, he threw a tantrum and turned out the lights.
But why did Prometheus want to trick Zeus at all? Well, he had a brother Epimetheus, and Epimetheus created the animals of the earth while Prometheus focused on the humans. But Epi had a toolbox that Pro did not have: the traits of the gods. He gave some animals the ability to swim without breathing, fly in the sky, withstand the desert heat, run at amazing speeds; Epi was putting the gifts of the gods in the animals he created. When Pro asked for some gifts for the humans, Epi had none left to give. Apparently, Zeus found that very very funny.
And so what will it all mean for this project? The aim for the first half of the process (a devised piece of musical ensemble theater) is to mount a literal retelling of the story. The second half is going to be about finding a modern allegorical focal point and revisiting the first part with an eye toward how our own world reacts to power changing hands. What happens when our gifts are co opted? Who says who gets power? What punishment fits the crimes of negligence, humiliation, theft, and torture? By exploring these big questions, the ensemble will aim to create a version of Prometheus that feels immediate so they can build the skill of adaptation and take that with them to other projects in their careers.
And music! More on that later.