The Medea myth is a love-story gone awry; a theatrical dance of raw physical emotions, cunning wit, and the impossible-to-define supernatural. Medea, a Greek tragedy written by Euripides that was first produced in 431 BC, is a story about the struggle for power between men and women. The playwright produced this play about the fury of a mistreated foreign woman in 431 BCE, just as Athens , at the height of its oppressive empire began its fatal war with Sparta . The violent and powerful character of the title role - loving and destructive - makes the play a shocker: nihilistic, disturbing and heart-breaking. Still, for artists and audiences past and present, all are frightened and drawn to this tale and its monstrous act.

In ancient myth, Medea was an immortal granddaughter of the Sun whose family served as guardians of the Golden Fleece. Upon developing an infatuation with the heroic explorer Jason, the mystical sorceress sacrifices her own heritage to help him steal the prized artifact. But when Jason forsakes his wife to further his quest for power and position, this legendary couple clash like mighty titans. Masterfully blending mortal corruption and betrayal with divine, supernatural vengeance, the play is a gripping thrill ride that transcends the ages to reveal the tragic darkness of human nature.

The MHΔEIA Project is more than a play.

The productions feature and celebrate the contributions of artists, governmental officers and/or ministries and scholars. While this project invites global visibility, it engages in a one-on-one intimate exchange and artistic investigation that represents as well as serves Athens and Los Angeles . The MHΔEIA Project credits the past, occupies the present, and enlightens the future.

On April 27, 2010 the Central Archaeological Council of Greece granted permission to perform in Cave Daveli, thus setting a precedent in allowing a theater production to perform at (much less in) an archaeological site.  This is the making of history through the making of art.

THE VISION

The MHΔEIA Project is a theatrical experience between sister-cities Athens and Los Angeles with the Greek tragedy Medea as its centerpiece. Everything exceeds all limitations to affect current realities while honoring the iconic myth and two symbolic venues. Participants from both worlds come together with the aim to emphasize Greece ’s greatest commodities: culture and archaeology, and unveil LA’s tremendous theater force internationally.

Athens , the capital and largest city of Greece , is considered one of the world's oldest cities with a recorded history spanning around 3,400 years. Founded September 1781, the much younger Los Angeles–known as the Entertainment Capital of the World–is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States . While these sister-cities are covered in smog, and battle earthquakes, fires, rising unemployment, immigration and an historic economic crisis, both are bustling cosmopolitan metropolises that set precedence central to economic, financial, industrial, political, educational and cultural life. And both are ready for change.  

Athens , The Old
The seed of inspiration is to perform Medea, in a cave, in Greece . Premiering the Mother-of-All-Tragedies literally inside Mother Earth enhances an authentic and ethereal theatrical experience. By debuting in Daveli’s Cave– a revered archeological cavern known for paranormal activity – a primal essence adds a visceral experience for the audience and fuels the story; a theatrical dance of raw physical emotions and the impossible-to-define supernatural.

Daveli’s Cave is located on Mt. Penteli , 15 km northeast of Athens , and was discovered in the 5th century BC by chance during the extraction of marble used to build the Parthenon. The cave takes its name from an infamous outlaw of the 19th century who used the cave as a hiding place, lending the site the same air of mystery and dark rumor associated with his name.  

Photo by Gary Leonard

Los Angeles , The New
The second staging of the production deconstructs the initial vision by reimagining Medea under the 7th Street Bridge overpass in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles . Built in 1908 this architectural structure is symbolic of the young, industrial city and is surrounded by a live soundscape that reflects L.A. ’s signature car-culture.

This next setting maintains what the cave offers in sensory adventure yet sets the event in a contemporary environment, bringing those elements to both the artist and audience experience alike. Enclosed by the diagonal ceiling, the man-made concrete cave is an amazing contrast to Greece 's Mother Nature-made marble cave.

WHY A CAVE?

Plato, author of Allegory of the Cave, asserts that the general terms of our language are not “names” of the physical objects. They are actually names of things that we cannot see, things that we can only grasp with the mind. Likewise, we may acquire concepts by our perceptual experience of physical objects. We would be mistaken if we thought that the concepts that we grasp were on the same level as things perceived.

Caves are historic loci of ritual and worship: the birthplace of theater and an entryway to the underworld. They feed our imaginations with dangerous secrets and glorious surprises. Raw smells, sights, sounds and sensations stimulate and tease a viewer’s senses. Immersing the audience and artists together in this confined surrounding causes a primal revelation, consciously and unconsciously, gaining access to the play’s elevated emotions and extreme actions. 

CULTURAL EXCHANGE  

The act of making The MHΔEIA Project is cultural exchange. It explores dissolving philosophical barriers, looks at how people from unfamiliar lands can address challenges together and creates rich opportunities for sharing one-another’s national traditions. Developing the work with various communities and involving participants from both Athens and Los Angeles , this venture cannot help but melt the boundaries of language and disparate backgrounds.

The event invites a rare opportunity to introduce international audiences–comprised of resident Greeks and Angelinos, tourists and students–to meaningful and important art; and offers a platform to remember and rejoice in Athenian heritage and its legacy.

Euripides’ Medea presents the harsh reality that throughout history; societies have cruelly yet appropriately referred to foreigners as aliens, keeping them under societal suspicion and often out of the core civilization and in the extreme, declared them the enemy.

THE AMBITION

Realizing The MHΔEIA Project amid the global economic calamity facing many nations – most especially Greece – is both challenging and necessary. Artists and other participants in this project share the belief that it can help ignite travel, national pride, imagination, and, we dare say, fun.

Los Angeles Theater
The City of Angels has shaped the imaginations of millions. Within this sprawling urban complex, the hidden and yet-to-be appreciated small-theater community continues to thrive against all odds. Without fear of public judgment or censorship and despite lean budgets, these houses and ensembles have embraced the spirit of experimentation and exercise their freedom to try anything a creator can imagine. The MHΔEIA Project epitomizes the bold dramatic manifestations of grassroots, live-performance that is dared and succeeds in a city with more theaters than New York yet is hidden in the commercial entertainment capital of the world; center of the music, film and television Industries.  

Photo by Gary Leonard

Parthenon Sculptures
Of most significance to Greece right now, and fantastically serendipitous in the timing of this project, is the initiative to have the Parthenon Sculptures (formerly known as Elgin Marbles) returned from the British Archaeological Museum . These are a treasured collection of classical sculptures, inscriptions and architectural members, contains original elements of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. The marble was quarried from Daveli’s Cave.

There will be a Benefit for the Ephorate of Paleoanthropology-Speleology and The International Parthenon Sculptures Action Committee Inc. This event will promote the Parthenon Sculpture Initiative and increase awareness of the marble's origins, encourage return to their rightful homeland, and remind all of the importance of Greece 's unique cultural history.  

TOURISM  

The MHΔEIA Project is committed to promoting Athens and Los Angeles as destinations to experience and create art. This can breathe new life into neglected neighborhoods and strengthen tourism to support local businesses’ economic stability. This undertaking will be supported by a documentary film that delves into the current climate of both cities’ economic realities and importance of intercultural activity.

EDUCATION

The MHΔEIA Project’s outreach residencies are based on sharing resources, supporting artists, educating the public and serving specific communities with themes identified from the produced work. The Project engages a diverse roster of studies: theater, archaeology, architecture, history, literature and psychology/philosophy and to encourage the importance of developing independent endeavors generated by dreams and imagination. Already the groundwork has been established to integrate into private and public schools to engage in dialogue that specifically addresses social exclusion, a central theme of the play. Special performances will include post-show talk-backs to understand the audience’s experience and address the themes of the play that relate to contemporary society today.

WHO  

Lead Artists
Tamar Fortgang (Conceiver, Producer, Actor) has an extensive background in creative arts with a focus on the live-performance. Her staging environments - determined by architectural, historical and archeological characteristics - transcend the common theater space and produces a one-of-a-kind experience. Such venues include parking lots, cathedrals, banks, and the grand lobby of an historic, abandoned subway terminal. During her twenty-year relationship with the Los Angeles theater community, she has been an active leader in the resurgent downtown arts movement. Fortgang is committed to building on- and off-stage communities around each production, collaborating with districts and their leaders, and bringing new life to neighborhood businesses and initiating experiences to move mind, body and spirit.

Ms. Fortgang is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts. She served as co-founder of both Zoo District Theater Company and Edge of the World Theater Festival, a first-of-its-kind festival celebrating small theaters throughout Los Angeles . Ms. Fortgang has performed in acclaimed independent productions such as, The Taming of the Shrew at the Orpheum Theater, the Los Angeles’ Premiere of Tony Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day at Theatre of NOTE, and the Getty commissioned- An Antigone Story, a Greek tragedy hijacked. In addition, she established the media and promotion departments for both Cornerstone Theater and The Roy and Edna Disney California Arts Theater (REDCAT).

Michael Fields (Director) is a founding member and Producing Artistic Director of the Dell'Arte Company.  As a member of the Dell'Arte performing ensemble for the past 30 years, he has been a recipient of San Francisco and San Diego Critics Circle and Los Angeles Drama-Logue awards for Performance and Writing. He has co-authored and performed in over 25 Dell’Arte productions, including Mad Love, Slapstick, Intrigue at Ah-pah, Whiteman Meet Bigfoot, Paradise Lost, Performance Anxiety, Malpratice and Wild Card. He is also Chair of the California State Summer School for the Arts Theatre Program, investing in the next generation of Los Angeles artists. A master teacher of Physical Performance Styles at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Michael has also taught for the Dutch National Theatre School; the California Institute of the Arts; Teater Studion in Stockholm, Sweden and at the Aarhus University "Dramaturgi Institute" in Denmark. 

Michael was a member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) from 1998-2004 where he served as the president of the International Theatre Institute/USA. He was an invited guest speaker at the first International Mask Conference in Venlo , Holland , with Dario Fo, Donato Sartori and Jacques Lecoq and has had articles published in a variety of national and international publications including Critical Perspectives, Writings on Art and Civic Dialogue. Michael was a recent recipient of a grant from the James Irvine Foundation for Leadership Advancement. Currently he is directing a new production of Dracula in Denmark with Teater Thalias Tjerene.  

Partners

Because of the strong mission to engage in cultural dialogue through art, the project participants extend from the traditional. We are under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture in Greece and the Municipality of Athens . These relationships, and others like them, contribute to the overall vision of the project to integrate into the fabric of both Athens and Los Angeles .

Centre for Research and Action on Peace (KEDE), a women's non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1988. Its goals are to promote a culture of peace through the empowerment of youth, women and civil society at large. KEDE's objectives are the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflict. This is the Centre’s first project that will feature theater as a tool to engage in dialogue with youths.

Ellinogermaniki Agogi (Academic Residency) is a school with the primary concern to cultivate abilities and skills allowing children from Kindergarten through High School to thrive in a world without borders.

Ephorate of Paleoanthropology-Speleology of S. Greece, Ministry of Culture, is a high-profile part of the Greek government. The Ministry works to develop a complete cultural policy for Greece, responsible for all state museums; for regional ephorates dealing with Prehistoric, Classical and Byzantine Antiquities; and recent monuments.           

Hellenic Republic Embassy of Greece ’s primary goals are to enhance the ethno-cultural heritage of Greeks worldwide, and to strengthen the ties among and between them, and their country of origin. odysseus.culture.gr

The International Parthenon Sculptures Action Committee Inc. (IPSACI), the world’s largest international action group working for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum to Greece.             

Municipality of Athens, The City of Athens Cultural Organization, is the official entity responsible for implementing the municipality's cultural policy. It is required to preserve cultural heritage by protecting important collections and memoirs, highlight the artistic creation of the present and develop a cultural strategy for the future.  

Sister-City Organization President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Sister Cities program in 1956 to build global cooperation, promote cultural understanding, and stimulate economic development among cities throughout the world. The Sister Cities of Los Angeles was founded three years later in 1959. Today, Sister Cities of Los Angeles promotes international relations, trade, cultural exchange, and peace with 25 Sister Cities and three Friendship Cities on six continents.           

Medea, oil painting by Berenice D’Vorzon

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Donate
Donations of CASH or CASH Equivalents, to a 501©3 are fully deductible and can be made online by visiting fracturedatlas.org (search The MEDEA Project) or mailing a check payable to Fractured Atlas to: Fortgang; 1850 North Taft Ave, #14; Los Angeles, California, 90028; USA.

Donations of CASH or CASH Equivalents to a Greece Non-Governmental Organization can be made by mailing to Centre for Research and Action on Peace (KEDE): Rizou Neroulou 30, Galatsi, Athens , Greece , 11141. Attn: Fotini Sianou, The MHΔEIA Project.

Sponsor
Sponsorship Benefits available starting at a donation worth $2,500/1826.95€ (N.B: contribution and expense amounts are projected based on the last quarter's Euro exchange rate average: $1/0.7308€)

Contribute
Housing, equipment, production materials, transportation, meals, etc.

Participate
Involve your company (restaurants, hotels, businesses, etc) in-exchange for promotion

Schools
Schedule student performances, lectures and workshops

Volunteer
Work with the artists on the production

Make Reservations
Check website for details

FOR INFORMATION, DETAILS AND SUCH, EMAIL INFO@theMEDEAproject.COM