The Odyssey is a fierce and beautiful story that I've been exploring in performance for years, and I've now begun a series of discussions with others so as to more deeply explore the theatrical, magical, and oceanic worlds of this story. The first discussion is below—more are on the way!

Exploring the Odyssey #1
​with Sam Buggeln

Sam Buggeln is the Artistic Director of The Cherry Arts in Ithaca, New York, who in the summer of 2021 directed a stage version of the Odyssey (co-produced with the Hangar Theater). We talked about the challenge of bringing this epic to the stage, wrestling with such issues as violence, gender and the supernatural while exploring the resonance this story has with contemporary audiences.

The Odyssey is an almost 3,000-year-old epic which describes the journey of the warrior Odysseus, who though protected by the goddess Athena must nevertheless wander for years through a landscape of one-eyed giants, floating cities and angry sea-gods before finally finding himself at home.

I've told this story to audiences from all walks of life and have seen its power to heal us through connection to powers larger than ourselves; it calls us to learn from failure and betrayal and the wisdom of animals, to meet the witch who holds the keys to the underworld and to hearken to the words of a gender-bending prophet from the Land of the Dead. Like all stories, the Odyssey is deepened when experienced as part of a group, whether online or in-person.

Some excerpts from my version of this story are below. If you are interested in being a part of a group exploration of this story or wish to book a performance, please get in touch via the links below.

​"The singer of epics must join heaven and earth"
​—Alma Kunanbaeva