"See, land-man got a man-god. And man-god's got wrath and ropes of muscle. And I’m all curved and slick and slippery, see, I’m all loyalty, ferocity, seal skin flexibility, but thems the parts you don’t see.
Sand man, land man.
Strike me struck me.
Like the last dry match.
Like any port in a storm."
What is The Dryway?
The Dryway is an original folk-opera written by Emma Zakes Green. Based on the ancient myth of Melusine, The Dryway tells the story of three mermaid sisters cursed to exile on land by their mother. Prose, poetry, and American folk music weave together to follow the sisters’ banishment from the ocean of their childhood to a motel bar in the desert, linking a mythic past with a gritty, humble present.
Collaborators
Staged Reading / 2013 CalArts New Works Festival
Emma Zakes Green - Writer, Director, Composer, Performer (Melusine)
Megan Therese Rippey - Performer (Melior)
Amanda Washko – Performer (Palatyne)
Jacob Loeb – Live Sound Mixing and Editing
Advanced Workshop / The Outpost - 2016 Son of Semele Company Creation Festival
Emma Zakes Green - Writer, Director, Composer, Performer (Melusine)
Megan Therese Rippey - Performer (Melior)
A’raelle Flynn-Bolden - Performer (Palatyne)
Kestrel Leah - Assistant Director, Choreographer
Kate Fry – Costume Design
Drew Foster – Set Design
Yiannis Christofides – Sound Design
Paul Fraser – Musical Direction, Arrangement
Reviews
"The Dryway has much to say about the trials of being a woman, and becoming fully human; much also about the way our wounds and limitations can become our gifts and strengths. But all of this runs silent, like the ocean’s currents, below a fast-moving and constantly entertaining surface."
— Theatre Ghost
"...by the end of Dryway the ultimate choice that the mermaid sisters face — whether to continue evolving in their new world or return to their beloved home and forget their earthly interlude entirely — is moving and palpable."
"Each actor plays her part with such deftness and generosity and when those parts come together the result is explosive, rollicking, otherworldly fun that manages to be both traditional and timeless, celebratory yet rebellious, magical yet grounded in the womb. Holy Mother, do yourself a favor and go see this show."
Gallery
Photos by Iliya Gegov & Olivia Zakes Green
