During a deadly fight between a furious Orfeas and the witch Medea, rain fell from the night sky onto the stage, and managed to make the tale of mythological gods and sexy vampires even more dramatic.
Saturday was the opening night for the play and musical Sang: The Bloody Tale of Orfeas and Evridiki, created by art director and actor Violet Bast (Medea). Approximately 60 people attended the event.
It is a story about the widowed poet Orfeas (Miranda Colette), who travels to Hades to raise his wife, Evridiki, played by Santa Barbara City College student Sage Garven, from the land of the dead.
But Evridiki returns as a vampire and seeks vengeance for her death. As innocent bodies pile up as a result of her hunger, the witch Medea tries to put an end to the massacre.
The idea of Sang came up when Bast was working on another play. She wanted to write the story from Evridikis’ perspective since she believes the mythological tale of Orfeas is written from a male point of view.
“And the sexual assaults is a very big thing in classical mythology,” Bast said. “The rapes just happen over and over, so I wanted to have this persons reaction to it, [like] ‘this happened to me, I’m pissed, I’m back and this is what’s going on.’”
The sounds of the conga drum, keyboard and vibra-tone built up a creepy, chills-down-your-spine feeling. During the transitions of the acts, I felt the need to take a long deep breath to calm my nerves. The sound effects made all the difference.
The play alternated between a serious, poignant tone and a dark, sexy humor that caused the audience to burst into laughter.
Director and actor Joe Andrieu played Silenus, the greek god of drunkenness and winemaking. A dancing, horny, half-naked man with a dildo attached to his crotch was definitely one of the parts that made the, oh, so dark play light up a little.
The lead male role, Orfeas, was played by a woman, Miranda Colette. She had to wear high-heeled boots and stand close to the edge of the stage to appear taller.
“She worked really hard at it. It was inspiring watching her because her natural postures are very gracious and delicate, and she’s adorable.” Bast said. “She had to break all the things that comes natural to her.”
It can be described as an intimate horror movie on an outdoor stage, a dedicated group of actors whose main goal is to entertain. Even with a low budget, their golden costumes looked amazing. You’d never guess they were bought on eBay or at Goodwill.
It’s hard for me to point out the negatives of the show since the positives outnumber them. However, because of Greek names such as Atropos, Dionysus and Aristo, Arist, Ariso ... whatever, you get the picture, I was lost.
Despite the confusion and the rain, the audience didn’t move an inch until the act was finished.
After the show, a masquerade ball was held with three DJs spinning. At midnight, a fire show was performed by three of the actors, one of them being Meighann Helene, an SBCC student who played one major and several minor parts in the play.
Upcoming shows will be this Saturday, Oct. 27, where guests can only attend if they are over 21, and on Oct. 31, where the age limit is set to 18.
The play is produced by Sexy Sandwich Productions. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by clicking here.
— Linda Sturesson is a staff writer for SBCC’s The Channels.
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