"Oedipus Revenant": An Exclusive Interview

By Danielle Wirsansky on November 4, 2014

Halloween is here, and if you’re looking for a way to support your local Tallahassee community and have shivers running down your spine, then you should check out the production of Oedipus Revenant! The Oedipus tragedy of Greek origin is still an important myth that is prevalent in our society. This is a horror adaptation of the original Oedipus play written by Charles Poole, another Tallahassee resident and theatre/horror scholar. Check out the exclusive interview with director Evangeline Ciupek below!

Q: What is Polyphonic Bonsai Productions? What does it hope to present and offer the Tallahassee Community?

EC: We are a new theatre company dedicated to creating top-quality productions that encourage involvement in theater, contribute to Tallahassee’s art culture, and promote community service.

Q: Does Polyphonic Bonsai have a mission statement?

EC: Whether we’re adapting a classic play, staging our own original rock opera, or mounting an immersive holiday- themed attraction, Polyphonic Bonsai has three objectives: (1) Create historically and theoretically grounded theatre. (2) Engage and entertain the Tallahassee community. (3) Maintain an ethical sensitivity about the issues theatre raises for our artists, audiences, and city.

Polyphonic Bonsai doesn’t want to change the world. We only want to enrich it through the stories we tell. Let’s experience these stories together.

Q: What is PPBP’s first production?

EC: Our first production of this season is Oedipus Revenant, a horror adaptation of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.

Q: When and where will performances take place?

EC: It’s happening at The Warehouse on Gaines Street in Tallahassee, FL, at 8 PM each night Thursday October 30th through Saturday November 1st. Costs are $12 at the door ($8 for students and seniors). We’ll have an inventive preshow going on before 8 that will usher people into the world of Thebes. So come 15 minutes early to check that out!

Q: What kind of theatre is Oedipus Revenant? How would you define it? Would you define it?

EC: It’s a horror twist on Greek tragedy.

Q: What do you want the audience to take away from your performance?

EC: A good time, and I know that sounds contradictory given this is a terrible tragedy. But I do hope they become invested in the story, have favorite characters, and enjoy the plot in the sense that its twists and turns excite them. I never wanted to make a show for theatre people, though I do hope they enjoy it. I want to make a show for the average person who likes to see horror films on Halloween and order pizza on the weekends, you know, a person who wants to see a good show.

Q: What about theatre draws you to it as a creator/performer/ director?

EC: Theatre is perishable, and I love that. It offers a constant struggle to make an established show brand new every time. There’s no finding the perfect take or immortalizing them moment forever. The theatre’s meant to disappear. That makes every performance charged with this energy of the birth and death of scenes and lines. I also love the camaraderie in theatre. That backstage atmosphere. The temporary family of actors, tech, and crew all striving for the same result – a damn good show.

Photo by Aaron Ellis

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