Polaroid Stories
by Naomi Iizuka
Produced by Flush Puppy Productions,
August 2002
on the streets, everybody has a mythology.
Polaroid Stories fuses slang and poetry as it cerates a dangerous modern day world on the streets using Ovid's Metamorphoses as inspiration. The production cycles around dependency and obsession, and characters who tell stories to survive.
In our production, we worked collaboratively with several artists. Our scenic and lighting designers: Heather Graff and Rich Peterson collaborated with seven visual artists and the cast to create the gritty mythological/street world in which the characters live. The actual set pieces were items collectively found in Chicago allies and dumpsters, along with the cardboard that covered the entire set. After creative meetings, the artists were set loose on stage, painting intricate murals that blend classical mythology, artistry, and street graffiti.
"But
mostly director Joanie Schultz affirms the play’s value by tracing genuine
human connections; her subtle almost balletic staging brings sweat and dirt and
blood to an otherwise impassive script." -Nick Green, Chicago Reader
"The Flush Puppy actors, under the aptly hallucinatory direction of
Joanie Schultz, have given themselves over to this strange music with complete
conviction. -Heddy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
Orpheus, Eurydice, and Persephone at the River of
Forgetfulness
Orpheus stuck on the other side
Philomel and Orpheus
Philomel
SkinheadGirl becomes a Star
The Death of Orpheus