Metamorphoses: Cursed or Blessed?

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Metamorphoses: Cursed or Blessed?

Tue., Jul. 29, 2008 6:58 AM PDT by Rebecca Bollwitt

Pink Monkey Studios

“When it comes to Greek mythology, you’re either cursed or blessed,” said Vancouver’s Michelle Kim who will be appearing in Metamorphoses, the award-winning theatrical event that opens Thursday, July 31st. Looking at those involved with the professional debut of the production in Vancouver it appears it has though this play has been truly blessed with talent.

Written by Mary Zimmerman, Metamorphoses includes 10 stories, which are based on The Ovid. It is directed by Christine Willes, who is known for her TV roles on The CW’s Reaper and Showtime’s Dead Like Me. She is now the Artistic Director at The William Davis Centre at VanArts and makes legends appear on stage with Metamorphoses. She orchestrates an ensemble cast through scenes of raw emotion, sin, greed, and lust in what Michelle Kim refers to it as, “a classic assembly of myths infused with modernity.”

The fact that the entire play is set around a pool of water is only one element that makes this production so unique. “I play a girl who falls in love with her dad,” chuckled Kim while describing the intricacies of some of the characters in the myths. She has appeared in various short films including I lost you at Twelve, The Cigarette, and In Waiting and this will be her second time appearing in Metamorphoses. She will once again be portraying Myrrah (the girl with the incestuous appetite) and the daughter of King Midas, as well as taking on the challenging role of Hunger itself.

Hailed by Time magazine as the "theatre event of the year" in 2001, Metamorphoses will run until August 16th at the Pacific Theatre. More information is available on the Facebook page. The production has also invited local bloggers to cover their opening night performance, embracing new media while performing stories that are thousands of years old.

“I hope ‘the gods’ will be smiling down on us,” noted Kim. However if this iteration of the show is anything like the student production that I experienced last year, I believe the smiles will be found on the faces of those in the audience.

GUEST BLOGGER: Rebecca Bollwitt has been blogging about Vancouver since 2004 on Miss604.com, co-hosting two podcasts since 2005 and in 2008 she co-founded sixty4media, a social media consulting firm.