Creede Repertory Theatre 2021

Director Betty Hart, Scenic Design Amanda Relaford, Lighting Design Kaye Swindell, Show Photographs Courtesy of Creede Repertory Theatre and Ramsay de Give

An Iliad tells Homer’s epic classic as originally intended- one poet telling the story to a crowd of people. Set in a place that is somehow both abandoned and full of life, a bar in the wilderness, one man tells the story night after night, asking each time… do we see? Lisa Peterson and Dennis O’Hare’s take on one of the oldest stories of war and love and loss and humanity was expertly directed and executed by Betty Hart and Lavour Addison against stunning natural backdrops in the remote mountain town of Creede. As our poet was sometimes sharing this tale under gorgeous clear blue skies and sometimes battling storms and winds to tell the story, this design’s key features were all about flexibility, both for the movement of the actor and for the ever changing weather in an experimental outdoor season in the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic. As The Poet is a timeless character who could be from anywhere at anytime, the design cast him amongst the through-hikers that frequently populate Creede in the summers- a traveller amongst the wilderness and the people, ready for everything because in his timeless nature, he has seen everything, specifically and especially what rage and anger do to us all as people. Rich warm colors were used to make our storyteller pop against the forested mountainside and natural wood of the set. With a functional pack with a shemagh for sweat on hot days, a military style cap for sun protection, tactical pants and a linen hiking shirt for full range of motion and breathability, a vest for cool nights and stormy days, and combat boots with full grip to allow safe solo stage combat, this design was entirely about functionality and the little details that make us all human.