Robert Villa (violin)began taking violin lessons while in the 7th grade at Roskruge Middle School. He is currently playing 8th chair in the first violin section of the Civic Orchestra of Tucson. He is also beginning a string quartet and is open to giving lessons. His love of music encompasses many styles and genres. As well as music, Robert loves nature and all that is wild. He is currently on the board of the Tucson Herpetological Society—dedicated to conservation, education and research concerning the amphibians and reptiles of Arizona and Mexico.

Gods and Goddesses

We have found, in the course of this project that the classical mythologies of the Mediterranean were, and are, remarkably pliant. What might be true for Apollo or Dionysus on one island or in one city was entirely different a hundred miles, or a hundred years away. Keats, in his retelling of Endymion, has extended this phenomenon across civilizations (he is not alone in this). Hence, notions of Paradise, and other Christian ideas, permeate this version of Greco-Roman myth.

Keats has used the Roman names for these deities (although a careful ear will hear a Greek name here and there in the text). Keeping in mind that there are no hard and fast definitions for these mythological presences, we offer some guidelines to help with the overall world of western classical mythology:

Pan: The Greek god of flocks and shepherds. His fearsome appearance caused panic to those who first saw him. He had horns, a beard, a tail and feet of a goat. He terrified his mother, having been born fully-grown and she fled. Woodland nymphs raised him. A nymph that he pursued changed into a “reed” to avoid him—the reed became his flute!

Satyrs: sons of Pan. They loved prankish merriment. They had ears and feet of a goat with human bodies.

Endymion: (One version) He was a good and kind ruler always retaining his youthful look but was very tired because the moon goddess (Selene) solicited his love and he couldn’t handle it so he agreed to her proposal only on the condition that Zeus would grant him immortality and perpetual sleep. His terms were accepted and he was transported to the Heavens (after begetting 50 daughters.) He was then placed on a soft couch to remain in ageless repose.

Venus: (The Roman name for Aphrodite) She was the beauty emerging from the clean foam of the sea. Her love power was so great that lions, wolves, panthers, and tigers followed her like tame animals. Where she touched ground with her foot, flowers sprang. She did much good but she was not always benign. She caused Circe to be cruelly spurned by Odysseus. It was she who claimed the prize of Discord’s golden apple bearing the inscription “To the Fairest” by bribing the judge, a Trojan prince named Paris, with the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, a Greek. Unfortunately, the Greeks were not in on the deal, and the Trojan War ensued.

Diana: (Roman name for Artemis) She was a daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo. She was a goddess of the chase who hunted daily with her band of lovely nymphs. She and her brother were born beneath Mt. Cynthus on the island of Delia—hence she was often called Cynthia. (It seems she became the successor to Selene as goddess of the “chaste” moon. This fusing of deities was a common practice and happened’ in later times.)

Selene: The goddess of the moon. Although she mated with Zeus, the object of her celestial caresses and love was Endymion. She bore 50 daughters by him bestowed while he lay in perpetual sleep. In later times she was completely identified with Artemis under her Roman name, Diana.

Bacchus: (The Roman name for Dionysus) The wine God, son of Zeus—born out of his thigh. He was honored into “the sacred mysteries”, which no man could witness so he was always accompanied by women. He did many fortuitous things in his continuing travels aiding other gods. His drunken ways were a later invention attributed to the Romans and Bacchus.

Circe: A goddess who established herself on the mythical island of Aeaea where she exercised the powers of sorcery. She turned those who were shipwrecked on her island into beasts. She had a sweet singing voice, which she used to lure men.

Cupid: (The Roman name for Eros) He was the most celebrated child of Venus and was the capricious creator of sensual love. He was usually depicted as an infant equipped with wings, a bow and quiver filled with love darts.

Arethusa and Alpheus: Arethusa was a Naiad (water nymph) who was pursued by Alpheius, a river God. He fell passionately in love with her. She fled from his amorous behavior from Greece to Sicily and there changed herself into a beautiful well. The persistent old river god however speedily flowed under the sea and mingled his amorous waters with hers!

The Arcadians came from the mountain of Cyllene, on Greece’s Peloponnesus peninsula.

Glaucus: A sea God who fell in love with the nymph, Scylla. As he pursued her, he ran into Circe who became jealous and by her magic bewitched Glaucus who immediately forgot all about Scylla. One version of Scylla’s fate was that Circe turned her into a dog-like monster with six fearful heads and twelve feet.

Echo: A nymph who fell passionately in love with Narcissus, who was cold and indifferent to her overtures of love. Hera was offended by Echo (because she was an excessive chattering nymph) and reduced her to a simple repetitive power of speech, which gave her the last (and alas only) word in all things. Her form faded with grief till at last all her flesh shrank away. Her bones were changed into rocks and there was nothing left of her but her voice.

Cast

Musicians

Production Staff

Designers

Our Thanks

Susan Arnold (Circe) works in theater and film as an actor, director, writer and producer. She most recently appeared as Gertrude in Southwest Shakespeare’s production of Hamlet, for which she received an Arizoni nomination for Best Actress. Her roles in local productions include Vita Sackville-West in White Garden, Polina in The Seagull, April in Hotíl Baltimore, and FS in Anger Box. Her regional credits include Maria Callas in Master Class, Molly in Molly Sweeney, Patsy in A Closer Walk with Patsy Kline, Maria in Twelfth Night, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Kathy in The Kathy and Mo Show and Halbrech in Scotland Road. Susan is a member of Screen Actorís Guild and has several commercial and independent film credits. She received her M.A. from the University of Arizona and currently serves as Artistic Director for C.A.S.T., Clean and Sober Theatre in Tucson. She is thrilled to be working on this production with The Rogue.

Christopher Burnham (Endymion), a native of Tucson, has spent much of his life on the stage, getting his start in children’s theater and working his way up through the Theater Department of Salpointe Catholic High School, where some of his favorite roles included Henry Higgins (My Fair Lady), Captain Keller (The Miracle Worker), and King Sextimus (Once Upon a Mattress). Currently a senior in the Theater program at the University of Arizona, Christopher’s roles have included four ensemble roles in Guys and Dolls, Talthybios in The Trojan Women, Al in The Philadelphia, Adam in The Creation of the World and Other Business, and Mr. Bergin in The Rogue Theatre’s The Dead. Christopher would like to express his joy at having the opportunity to work with such a great cast and director, bringing such beautiful language to the stage. Also, he would like to thank his parents, sister, and good friends for their love, support, and encouragement.

Tony Eckstat (Alpheus) has been active in the Tucson theater community since 1999. With experience acting, directing, and working backstage, he has contributed his efforts to a variety of local groups, including Live Theatre Workshop, Tucson Community Theatre, Wilde Playhouse, Catalina Players and many others. One of the co-founders of Tucson Theatre Ensemble, he is particularly proud to be a part of their outreach program, which takes live performances out to underserved communities. Tony is no stranger to the camera either, having taken part in numerous local films and cable television projects.

Tanaya Gallagher (Arethusa): This is Tanaya’s third professional show, the first two being The Rogue Theatre’s productions of The Balcony and The Dead. She performed in many shows at Catalina Foothills High School including Cabaret, Jake’s Women, The Children’s Hour and Summer and Smoke. Currently she is training to become a fitness instructor at Canyon Ranch and is attending Pima Community College where she runs cross country.

Carolyn Hokin (Water Nymph/Scylla/Ensemble) is a sophomore in Spanish at the University of Arizona, and is more than thrilled to be a part of the Rogue Theatre’s production of Endymion. She got her start performing at St. Philip’s in the Foothills Episcopal Church, where she sang such coveted solo pieces as Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Gabriel Fauré’s Pie Jesu. She has worked extensively with the BASIS School, where she most recently played Bella in Lost in Yonkers, Titania in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and directed The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged). Carolyn has also recently performed with The Rogue Theatre in The Dead. Carolyn is also currently a member of Tucson’s popular improv troupe Not Burned Out Just Unscrewed.

Chris Hokin (Adonis/Young Glaucus/Ensemble) is a senior at Tucson High School. He has apperared in a few school plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theseus), Oklahoma (Ali Hakim), and Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), but has never been part of a real theatre company. Hence, this will be the first major production he has ever participated in. In addition, Chris hold a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do, and has recently achieved a black belt in Haidong Gumdo (Korean sword). He also plays electric/acoustic guitar. Furthermore he is more than happy to be working in such a wonderful atmosphere as the Rogue Theatre.

Art Jacobson (Oracle/Elephant/Ensemble) began his acting career as a child actor in Chicago radio. In college, he played John Adams in a summer-long production of The Common Glory. He wrote and acted in radio dramas produced by the Broadcasting Service of the University of Michigan and came home to Chicago as a production director at NBC’s affiliate, WMAQ. Subsequently, he taught philosophy at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Tucson audiences have seen him in readers’ theatre performances of No Exit and The Critics, as the Rabbi in Borderlands Theater production of Vilna’s Got a Golem, and in The Rogue Theatre’s The Balcony and The Dead. He’s delighted to be part of Endymion.

David Alexander Johnston (Cupid) has recently been seen on stage with Arizona Theatre Company in The Fantasticks and Much Ado About Nothing and in a variety of roles in My Fair Lady. His other professional theatre credits include major roles in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Big River, I Do! I Do!, Odd Couple, and The Foreigner. He performed with Arizona Opera in Threepenny Opera, Barber of Seville, Carmen, and Girl of the Golden West. His television and movie credits include Day of Redemption, Spin, The Unflyable Plane for BBC, Fast Getaway II, Tank Girl, and several regional and national commercials and industrial films. Local Arizona audiences may recognize David from his roles as Marvin in Falsettoland, Buzz in Love, Valour, Compassion! and P. T. Barnum in Barnum.

Joseph McGrath, Artistic Director (Poet) is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama. He has toured with John Houseman’s Acting Company, appearing in Pericles, Tartuffe, Twelfth Night, and The Country Wife. At the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Joe appeared in Hamlet, Henry IV: Part I, and Much Ado About Nothing. In New York City, he directed Rough Magic: A Shakespeare Quartet. In Tucson, he is a frequent performer with Ballet Tucson appearing as an Ugly Stepsister in Cinderella, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, VanHelsing in Dracula and, perennially, as Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. He has also performed with the Arizona Theatre Company, Tucson Art Theatre, Arizona OnStage, Green Thursday, Damesrocket Theatre, and Old Pueblo Playwrights in such roles as Trigorin in The Seagull, Sam Byck in Assassins, John in Oleanna, and This Rock in Anger Box. Joe is also a scenic designer and owns Sonora Theatre Works with his wife Regina Gagliano, producing theatrical scenery and draperies. Most recently, Joe directed The Balcony, performed The Fever, and performed in The Dead for The Rogue Theatre and also appeared in Arizona Opera’s Threepenny Opera.

Cynthia Meier, Managing Director (Diana) has performed in The Balcony (The Rogue Theatre), A Streetcar Named Desire (Arizona Theatre Company), Blithe Spirit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Michigan Repertory Theatre), Romeo & Juliet, Chicago Milagro (Borderlands Theatre), Top Girls (Damesrocket Theatre), A Namib Spring (by Patrick Baliani, winner of the 1999 National Play Award), A Nightingale, Smirnova’s Birthday, The Midnight Caller, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Tucson Art Theatre), and A Maid’s Tragedy (directed by Domini Blythe of the Royal Shakespeare Company). Most recently, Cynthia adapted and directed James Joyce’s The Dead and directed Wallace Shawn’s The Fever for The Rogue Theatre and directed Chekhov’s The Seagull (featuring Ken Ruta) for Tucson Art Theatre. Cynthia is a Division Dean at Pima Community College and holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of Arizona.

David Morden (Glaucus) appeared most recently as Constable Smith in the Arizona Opera’s production of The Threepenny Opera as well as singing in the chorus of The Flying Dutchman. As an actor, he has performed locally with Arizona Onstage Productions (Assassins), Actors Theatre (The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged)) and Green Thursday Theatre Project (Anger Box, Rain), of which he is a co-founder. As a director, he has worked with Green Thursday (Shakespeare’s R&J, White Garden), Oasis Chamber Opera and Arts For All. A member of the Tucson Symphony Chorus, he will delve once again into the world of opera this spring in the chorus of Arizona Opera’s Susannah.

Caroline Murphy (Peona) (formerly Liebert) is thrilled to be back on a Tucson stage with her Rogue Theatre debut. Caroline has performed at the Union Colony Dinner Theatre in Colorado as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, and as Wife/Ensemble in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as well as in off-off Broadway shows in New York and as part of the 42nd Street cast in the Gypsy of the Year Awards, Palace Theatre, Broadway. Caroline was last seen in Tucson in the Arizona Rose Theatre Company as Marion in Robin Hood, and at University of Arizona Opera Productions such as The Fairy Godmother in Cendrillon and Valencienne in The Merry Widow. Caroline received her Bachelor of Music from the U of A, and studied acting there and in New York.

Arlene Naughton (Venus) performed most recently in The Rogue Theatre’s The Balcony and The Dead. She is very pleased to be returning to the stage after a ten-year absence. Her Arizona credits include Nunsense (Flagstaff Festival of the Arts), Brighton Beach Memoirs (Serendipity Playhouse), A Christmas Carol (Gaslight Theatre); and Wigged Out! (Stray Theatre Company). Arlene also toured with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan and performed in Lady Audley’s Secret (Imperial Hotel) and I’ll Be Back Before Midnight (Derby Dinner Playhouse). She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and works at Cottonwood de Tucson.

Chuck Rankin (Bacchus) brings nearly twenty years of various stage experience to share with The Rogue’s brilliant and creative ensemble. He is grateful for the opportunity to play the God of Wine in this production of Endymion. Memorable past performances on Tucson stages include portrayals of Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee at Live Theatre Workshop, Marcus in Titus Andronicus at Etcetera Late Night Theatre, and Mark Jennings in Borderlands’ production of Guatanamo. Lately Chuck has been practicing his juggling skills, concurrently directing Ira Levin’s Deathtrap for Live Theatre Workshop while rehearsing for Endymion.

Joan Van Dyke (Oracle/Ensemble) grew up in Tucson and performed during her young teens in what is now the Cabaret Theatre. After studying drama, music and dance in Boston, she transferred to the School of Theatre Arts at the U of A, where her favorite role was Joan in The Lark. Before returning for a Master’s Degree in Children's Theatre, she worked with Sandy Rosenthal and performed the role of the Wife in Rashomon at the Temple of Music and Art. She joined the Invisible Theatre in its formative years where she acted, wrote plays and directed the Children’s Workshop. She has studied pantomime in Los Angeles, has worked with Marcel Marceau for several summers and has worked as a Wolf Trap Artist in Head Start Centers in Tucson. Last January she performed with Live Theatre Workshop in Dearly Departed. She is very pleased to be a part of the Rogue Theatre for its production of Endymion.

Leanné Whitewolf Charlton (Echo/Indian Maid/Ensemble), before moving to Southern Arizona, received her formal theatre and dance education from Northwestern College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She performed in numerous Midwestern productions including The Miracle Worker, The Good Woman of Setzuan, Dracula, Pippin and The Sound of Music. She has studied with the Milwaukee Ballet as well as the internationally renowned African-American dance company, Ko-Thi. Her Arizona Credits include the role of Hattie Dealing in Laundry and Bourbon (The Studio for Actors) and Helga Ten Dorp in Deathtrap (Tucson Theatre Ensemble). Leanne is grateful for the opportunity to be back on the stage after a long absence and is proud to be a part of The Rogue Theatre ensemble cast. She is especially thankful to Shelene, Dixie, Lakota and the founding members of the Florence Players who bless her journey every day. She lives with her loving and supportive husband, Russ and a large four-legged family.