Ritual
“Ritual beautifully weaves the ancient tale of Orestes with the modern, in both story and setting. The crowd wanders like ghosts through Orestes’ life, opening up cabinets and picking up photos of long-dead family members. We rifle through his drawers; in one, a haphazard stack of granola bars and dried fruit. In another, tiny model ships swim in a sea of cerulean yarn….
Ritual was all-around spectacular. Arjun Pande’s performance of Orestes was spellbinding, the set design incredible, and the lighting and music create a haunting atmosphere".”
— Cheyenne Ligon, No Proscenium
An inconspicuous bookstore in New York City’s East Village was transformed for an 8-hour adaptation of The Oresteia — anchored by a single actor performing nonstop for the entire duration. Running October 29th-30th, 2021, visitors wandered off the street into Orestes’ safehouse, exploring a fully-designed space replete with family mementoes and ancient artifacts, watching all the while as Orestes undertook Greek religious rituals in an attempt to make the silent gods speak to him once more.
Directed by: Charlotte Murray
Written by: Michael Bontatibus
Featuring: Arjun Pande, Rebecca Margolick, Kylie Rae Brown, Sierra Casteel, Joshua Josey, Krushika Patankar, Ben Langhorst
Lighting Design: Elizabeth M. Stewart
Sound Design: Trey McGee
Choreography: Rebecca Margolick
Stage Manager: Cati Pishal
Production Assistant: Aoife Hough
Video Editing: Nate Lessler
Village Works, 2021
Photo Credit Arin Sang-Urai
