An original “rock opera†performed at the University of Michigan’s RC Auditorium with students from Kate Mendeloff’s Residential College drama seminar, The Perils of Rising and Falling was a reworking of the Greek myth of Icarus.
The original myth goes something like this: Daedalus and son Icarus have been imprisoned on the island of Crete. Since escape by water would be guarded against, the clever architect Daedalus makes wings from wax and feathers for the two to escape by air. Just before leaving, Daedalus warns his son against flying too close to the sun and melting the wax that holds his wings together. But of course, Icarus gets excited by flying and does just that, eventually falling into the sea and being consumed by the waves. This myth has been presented as a demonstration of the “golden mean,†the rule that says “everything in moderation, nothing in excess.†Icarus flew too high, so he died, and so on.
In the reworking, both father and son make it safely across the Aegean after having mastered the technique of flying, but Daedalus realizes that Icarus, having grown so comfortable and dependent on his wings, has simply forgotten how to walk. Seeing the danger of his invention, he makes the painful decision to destroy it and leave his son there on the shore to die. In the play, Daedalus’s soliloquy in explanation/justification of this act are sung through the mouth of a sleepwalking teenage boy who has just fallen asleep while watching a late-night public television show about the myth. His words come through as lyrics to the mid-90s alt-rock-style songs that constantly float around in his head.
The production was to include video projections onto large screens on either side of the stage, silhouetting from the backside of these same screens, and original choreography. However, because of certain logistical and technological issues, the one-time-only performance did not go exactly as intended, so that it may be better in the end that the person in charge of filming got a flat tire on her way to the venue and could not document it for posterity.
with:
Kate Mendeloff and RC Drama seminar students
Graham Atkin (narrator of TV series “Myths of the Agesâ€)
First Baptist Church of Saskachewan Youth Dance Troupe and Review (choreography/dance)
Samara Davis (illustrations)
Andaya (director)
Ryan Sherrif (boy)
Andrew Phillips (guitar)
Will (percussion)