The Inception of Women of Clay
Inspired by the natural feature of an outdoor amphitheater, Kate Aarness decided to create a theatrical piece based on Ancient Greek sensibilities focusing on the untold stories of women. This adaptation tells the stories of Creusa, Sappho, and Io.
Creusa is the daughter of the mythic king, Erechtheus. Her life is upturned when he decides to sacrifice her oldest sister in order to win a looming war. For the rest of her life, she wrestles with the expectations of duty and the burden of fate, surviving an abusive encounter with a god and coming face to face with its cancerous result 19 years later.
Sappho was a poet in Ancient Greece, from the island of Lesbos. Her work defined the culture she inhabited with her illustrious stanzas and personal tone, yet hardly any of her work survived the passage of time. The fragments that remain display her inordinate capacity to achieve vulnerability as well as her love for women.
Io was a priestess who came under the interest of Zeus who, in fear of being discovered by Hera, transformed her into a white heifer. Hera retaliated, and those consequences set Io up to come across the paths of Argus Pantopes, a man with 100 eyes, the stinging Gadfly, and the bound titan, Prometheus. Her journey, while exhausting and riddled with obstacles, led Io to a heroic legacy.
By displaying these stories, it is Kate’s intent to bring attention to the modern plight of women and their ongoing oppression by examining those in the past.
Creusa is the daughter of the mythic king, Erechtheus. Her life is upturned when he decides to sacrifice her oldest sister in order to win a looming war. For the rest of her life, she wrestles with the expectations of duty and the burden of fate, surviving an abusive encounter with a god and coming face to face with its cancerous result 19 years later.
Sappho was a poet in Ancient Greece, from the island of Lesbos. Her work defined the culture she inhabited with her illustrious stanzas and personal tone, yet hardly any of her work survived the passage of time. The fragments that remain display her inordinate capacity to achieve vulnerability as well as her love for women.
Io was a priestess who came under the interest of Zeus who, in fear of being discovered by Hera, transformed her into a white heifer. Hera retaliated, and those consequences set Io up to come across the paths of Argus Pantopes, a man with 100 eyes, the stinging Gadfly, and the bound titan, Prometheus. Her journey, while exhausting and riddled with obstacles, led Io to a heroic legacy.
By displaying these stories, it is Kate’s intent to bring attention to the modern plight of women and their ongoing oppression by examining those in the past.