In late April, We Players began a unique artistic residency at Angel Island State Park—the first artistic residency at any California state park—with a visual art exhibition at the park’s Visitor Center. The main event of the residency, the company’s island-wide performance of The Odyssey, will run from May 12 to July 1.
Photo by Tracy Martin
Published: May, 2012
In late April, We Players began a unique artistic residency at Angel Island State Park—the first artistic residency at any California state park—with a visual art exhibition at the park’s Visitor Center. The main event of the residency, the company’s island-wide performance of The Odyssey, will run from May 12 to July 1.
The Odyssey on Angel Island will unfold across Angel Island State Park as an all-day adventure through the hills, historic buildings, cement bunkers and natural environs of Angel Island, surrounded by stunning views across the San Francisco Bay. Using maps and "survival kits" provided by We Players, audience participants will engage all their senses to explore the story of the ancient hero and its connections with the history and environment of Angel Island. Twelve actors will play over 40 roles in the story, accompanied by live music, and will help guide audiences to experience their own odyssey.
We Players’ artistic residency is designed to explore themes found in the history of Angel Island, namely journeying, war, homecoming and refuge. During the residency, We Players plan further education and community engagement programs to stimulate discussion around these themes that will be presented in tandem with the development of their site-specific, island-wide performance based on Homer’s Odyssey.
"Angel Island has unique stories that can not only inspire our work but also spark important conversations about the world we live in today," said Ava Roy, the company’s artistic director. "We feel that non-theatrical events like visual art exhibitions, panel discussions inspired by the exhibitions, and symposia help the community engage with the themes we’re exploring."
Roy pointed out a number of parallels between the Odysseus story and the complex history of Angel Island. The island has the longest continuous military presence of any Bay Area site, beginning with the Spanish-American War through its service as a Nike missile base during the Cold War. It also housed an immigration station, processing hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the western United States between 1910 and 1940.
Likewise, Roy said, Odysseus and his crew were soldiers, having fought ten years in the Trojan War, but also travelers who were at times welcomed and at other times shunned or brutalized upon their arrival. "Odysseus found that his journey was transformational in itself," said Roy. "I think a modern audience can relate to the ways in which journeys—especially journeys to seek a home, or journeys of war—can shape a person, his sense of self and place, and feelings of alienation or belonging."
"We are honored to be invited to create work on Angel Island," Roy said, "and excited to introduce new ways of experiencing and appreciating our precious local parks."
Recently honored with a 2010 Best of the Bay editors’ pick from the San Francisco Bay Guardian, We Players’ past productions include Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Fort Point and Hamlet on Alcatraz Island. For more information, please visit www.weplayers.org.
