Open Gate Theatre’s

Dionysus in Hell

A mixed media work based loosely on Aristophanes’comedy- “The Frogs”

Composed and written by Will Salmon,

with creative work by the performers

Directed by Josh Berkowitz

In “Dionysus in Hell”, Dionysus, the flamboyant god of theater, goes down to the underworld to bring back the spirit of Jerzy Grotowski, the great Polish Avant Gard theater director. Our Underworld will be inhabited by denizens influenced not just by Greek mythology but Dante, Opera, and Butoh dance.

“Dionysus in Hell” will have original music, utilizing virtuoso instrumentals, extended vocal techniques, and strange cornball tunes.  There will be video work, cloth sculpture, clowning, puppets, and slapstick, “Dionysus” will use a full Open Gate ensemble, with Will Salmon as Dionysus and Tuba Heatherton as the servant Xanthias are not unlike Hook and Smee; the “Love interest” (sort of) Persephone will be an otherworldly beauty sung and danced by Sharon Chohi Kim; there will be a ghost band of accordion, trombone, piccolo, sax, and percussion; Grotowski and Hijikata will be performed on giant puppets, and there will be Frogs leaping and singing.

Performers include:

Yiouli Archontaki

Alex Cline

Vinny Golia

Tuba Heatherton

Sharon Chohi Kim

Tany Ling

Will Salmon

Joel Shapiro

Breeze Smith

Dwight Trible

Micaela Tobin

Michael Vlatkovich

With this production Open Gate

begins it’s artistic residency at the Electric Lodge

Contact: opengatewills@gmail.com

Web: www.opengatetheatre.com