Penelope and Ulysses (3 page)

This work is a gift of love to all that have passed before me, those that are with me, and those that will find me later.

I am a “citizen of the world,”
14
and at the expense of sounding ridiculous in the world of relativity and appearance, I am a lover of the world and the many worlds that live and breathe in others.

“If we want the Sun to return

we have much work to do,

much struggling as a united people.”
15

The Fire Maker

Of
all
the
fires
of
the
heart,
love
is
the
only
inexhaustible
one.

I am a shy, backward, and awkward writer of myth, fact, and nonsense, and I find it impossible at times to write what I sense in the stream of collective imagination and in the stream of our soul and our humanity.

I find it almost impossible, because I fear attention and the confinement of what is from the profound, sublime, absurd, and ridiculous. To take the risk of baring your soul for all the world to see and judge is both dangerous and ridiculous, but this is the marking and habit of the Lover for life, who is both determined and deeply tender.

There are many who have left their mark on my mind, heart, and body, but there is only one I have always sought and followed: the laws and dark passages of my wandering and seeking psyche.

I am accountable and responsible only to the ways of love. I wrote this for my teachers and mentors who left their blood affirmation for me and others, for those who seek and love my incorrect ways in the moment, and for those who may seek another voice in the song of making, weaving, struggling and creating—the world of the Lover.

The lessons of war are that “we must fight, not in the hope of winning but to keep something alive”
16
, to keep love alive.

“I am consumed by a deep longing to find my way home, therefore I know of Ulysses’s wandering and searching. I know of his tricksters and phantoms, including the Siren. He was tricked and delayed because she knew the secret of his heart.”
17

I have been consumed by Penelope’s plotting and planning to remain true to my nature, choices, and destiny, which is usually, if not always, in conflict with the opinion and direction of the organised might of the barbarian (“men with hearts of stone”
18
) without a heart, without love.

Both of these archetypes have travelled with me, along with the teaching that in order for one to remain Alive and In Love (I don’t think anyone is fully alive if they are not in love with life and the world), one must learn the ways of Anathema and Athanasia.

Characters
 

VOICES

* The Penelopes also become The Chorus (Classical Greek theatre).

I chose to have the young Penelope and the older Penelope addressing us in this way not because there is a division in their entity but because there is unison.

How many times have we looked back into our past and seen, and even
addressed
, our decisions? To be able to see the young and older Penelope speaking and answering questions together creates a visual intensity and unison of all her life.

For those that will read the dialogues of
Penelope
and
Ulysses
before they are set to stage, I will describe the rooms they are in so that you can see and know where these dialogues occur.

During the play we see young Penelope and the older Penelope coming to terms with the decisions and outcomes in her life. Young Penelope brings youth and freshness, playfulness and sexuality; the older Penelope brings wisdom and strength, seduction and determination in fulfilling her journey in life and her purpose in sharing her journey with the audience. Both are physically strong, tender, and accomplished. They project a striking appearance and presence.

Set

The play and dialogues are in two main areas of Penelope and Ulysses’ world, which consists of conflict and resolution: the chambers and the seashore. The only exception to this is Agamemnon’s scene, in a cold room outside the chambers.

The first main area is the chambers of Penelope and Ulysses. This is the sacred area both share, and later in the play and dialogues, Penelope hides her son in the chamber.

In this chamber is a living tree. Ulysses has built this room around a very old and large tree. Their bed is under the tree, and Ulysses has carved forest scenes into the tree above their heads: this is their secret, since no one else has been in the sacred space together to see what Ulysses has carved in the wood, in the tree for Penelope.

This tree represents The Tree of Life.

The second main area of life and importance, to both Penelope and Ulysses, is the sea. It is the sea that brings Agamemnon to their home. The sea that separates them. The sea that returns Ulysses to Penelope. The sea that she looks at from her window. The sea that she talks to. The sea is the symbol for uncharted and unmapped life.

“There is the sea and who will drink it dry?”
19

The
play
is
dedicated
with
deep
agape
to
those

who
deeply
long
to
find
their
home.

PENELOPE and ULYSSES

“
I
cannot
tell
the
difference
between
Ulysses
and
Penelope

for
both
are
navigators
and
influence
the
hearts
of
men.”

Act I
The Arrival
 

Colours of Night

‘
Exerte
erthe
apo
to
skotathi’

You
have
arrived
from
darkness

[
PENELOPE
is
a
tall,
strong
woman
with
long
auburn
hair.
A
very
attractive
woman
in
both
her
youth
and
older
age,
the
YOUNG
PENELOPE
and
the
older
PENELOPE.
Her
face
has
character,
and
she
has
a
piercing
gaze
that
makes
most
feel
exposed.
She
trains
for
physical
battle
daily
in
her
chambers,
and
therefore
she
is
a
disciplined
warrior
in
her
own
right,
although
she
does
not
share
this
with
others
(your
best
strength
is
your
best
kept
secret).
She
does
not
flaunt
her
skill
with
the
sword
or
her
head
for
politics.

PENELOPE
is
dressed
in
warrior’s
clothing.
Her
top
is
leather
with
binding
and
buckles
to
represent
her
training
and
discipline.
She
refuses
to
forget
herself
in
woman’s
comfort
and
co-dependence,
and
her
clothes
reveal
her
as
both
feminine
and
a
warrior.
The
bottom
of
her
skirt
is
long
and
sheer,
revealing
her
sensuality
and
femininity.
Her
long
auburn
hair
and
light
green
eyes
give
her
the
appearance
of
a
seductress,
a
siren.
She
wears
boots
and
Ulysses’s
war
bracelets.

We
find
PENELOPE
in
her
chambers,
looking
into
her
youth,
bringing
to
life
her
youth,
and
the
older
Penelope
in
unison
with
her
youth
takes
the
audience
through
the
beginning
of
her
journey.