Mythology meets the street in 'Polaroid Stories' at Cornell

MOUNT VERNON — Familiar stories from classical mythology are depicted through the lives of homeless street kids in “Polaroid Stories,” opening Thursday, Dec. 12, at Cornell College.

“The play explores the lives of its characters by comparing them to mythical archetypes and celebrates the importance of storytelling as a means of making sense out of experience,” says director Mark Hunter, assistant professor of theatre and communications studies. He has directed productions at the Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival the past three summers.

“Polaroid Stories” continues Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13-15. All performances are at 8 p.m. in Cornell’s new Kimmel Theatre. General admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students, children and senior citizens. For tickets, call 895-4293. Because of the language, the play may not be suitable for some children.

A panel discussion and talkback will follow the opening-night performance. The panel will feature John Gruber-Miller, professor of classical and modern languages, on the mythological aspects of the production; Tina Fetner, assistant professor of sociology, discussing the sociological issues dealing with homeless street kids that arise in the production; and Hunter and Scott Olinger, also of the theatre and communications studies department, on the theatrical and aesthetic issues of the play.

Naomi Iizuka’s play takes place on the outermost edge of a city, a hangout for dreamers, dealers and desperadoes, a no-man’s land where runaways seek camaraderie, refuge and escape.

“This production is well-suited to a college environment because we used resources within the college community,” Hunter says.

Students in a sociology course, “Youth Cultures,” discussed with the cast the lives of homeless youth. Gruber-Miller helped the 10-member cast understand the myths in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” which inspired playwright Iizuka. Familiar stories, including Echo and Narcissus, Hades and Persephone, and Orpheus and Eurydice, take on a modern twist.

The characters are identified by mythological names in the program, but they never address each other by name. These modern-day mortals face enormous obstacles, as did their mythic counterparts. The characters in “Polaroid Stories” are not meant to be literal analogues of the mythological figures. Rather they share certain characteristics or patterns of behavior.

The mythical Narcissus, for example, was desired by everyone, both male and female, but fell in love only with his reflection. That is substantially true of the play character as well, who survives by marketing his desirability and fixates on his reflection in a tiny mirror he uses to apply his makeup.

No special knowledge of mythology is required to enjoy the production. Each of these stories stands on its own as a tale about life on the streets. Noting the mythic dimension of each of the stories simply adds extraordinary depth and cultural resonance to the equation.

“Polaroid Stories” is the first production in Cornell’s Kimmel Theatre. A $1.2 million grant from the Richard P. Kimmel and Laurine Kimmel Charitable Foundation Inc. helped fund construction of the theater addition to Armstrong Hall. Richard Kimmel was a 1919 graduate of Cornell.

The Kimmel Theatre is part of a $16.3 million fine arts renovation project at Cornell. A new facility for the visual arts, McWethy Hall, was dedicated in October, and next summer the college will mark the completed renovation of Armstrong Hall for the departments of music and theater.