June 13, 2002

Video Manipulation by Isabelle Jenniches (in Amsterdam), Eric Redlinger and Heather Wagner
Masks and Puppets created by Shannon Harvey
Performers: John Capalbo, Jeff Grow, Jocelyn Ruggiero
Daemons & Psychopomps is a live Performance/Video/Music event inspired by the myth of Persephone. In the Location One gallery space, Ned Rothenberg and Ikue Mori will play live improvised music, while four large projections on the walls of the gallery will show the work created by video artists in NYC and Amsterdam, connected over the internet via collaborative software. The video artists will manipulate the images of actors in masks, performing in the project room of the gallery, and images captured prior to the live event. Additionally, the musicians will affect certain aspects of the images through the music they play. This entire event will be streamed live on the Location One website.

Please join us in the gallery or online at www.location1.org for this unique and exciting event.

The Myth of Persephone
According to myth, Persephone, maiden goddess and daughter of earth goddess Demeter, is captured by Hades and forced to live in the Underworld with him as his consort and queen. Demeter, enraged and grief-stricken over the abduction of her daughter, allows everything on earth to die. To help gain Persephone’s release, she appeals to several of the male gods; they comply and Hades is forced to release Persephone. However, while living in the Underworld, Persephone has eaten seeds of the pomegranate (food of the dead), and she is forced by cosmic law to return to the Hades for a portion of each year, thus creating vegetative cycles and seasons.

In this re-imagining of the myth, Persephone may or may not be a willing participant in her own abduction. The night before she must return to Demeter, Hades throws a festive farewell party in his queen’s honor and the partygoers feast on pomegranate seeds which may or may not be hallucinogenic. A hedonistic Bacchanalian fest ensues as revelers celebrate Persephone’s last night. Hangovers abound as Demeter comes to claim her daughter.

The puppets and masked used for this performance were originally created for the Messenger Theatre Company production of PERSEPHONE written and directed by Emily Davis at RedLAB in Spring 2002, produced by Agathe David Weill. PERSEPHONE will be performed at the NYC Fringe Festival (August 9-25 http://www.fringenyc.org ). For more info email messengertheatreco@yahoo.com.