WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT

WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT

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so writes penelope, the odyssey’s paragon of monogamy – “patient,” “faithful, “devoted.” our everywife. her life’s taken on a routine, rutted color. by morning: thread the bobbin, weave the mantle – swiftly stich with golden flash. by night: undo said stitching, protect kingdom from predatory suitors – await odysseus’ return.

 

and when will he return?

 

it’s enough to drive any domestic to spindle-pricking. odysseus - defenestrating cyclops, bedding calypso, writhing on a mast while sirens coax him to ear-gasm. penelope…the tiniest bit bitter, the tiniest bit jealous, in the tiniest bit of danger (of succumbing to victim complex?)

 

patient. faithful. devoted.

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in dollhouse, a modern, folk opera retelling of the classic epic, we embark on an alternate odyssey as penelope considers the caffeine withdrawal of commuted co-dependency and the aching kind of growing that is “finding oneself.”

 

told by a greek chorus of modern-day incarnations, dollhouse asks:

is there deep betrayal in choosing made moments over the institution of marriage? are the trials, losses, and stranded-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-nomadry worth the quivering moments of becoming? and should (or can) we ever go home again?

 

who am i, without him? what will i be? what could i.

(she muses. and the muses roll their eyes.)

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xo,p

penelope - fidelity (sample)