Poetry and Music of Revolution and Evolution

The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will present an evening of “Poetry and Music of Revolution and Evolution” on Saturday, November 6th, 2004 at 8pm, at the Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music, University of Washington. Donations at the door.

The evening will incorporate poetry, prose, and music from 1776 to 1916 and beyond, including excerpts from works by W. B. Yeats, Pádraic Pearse, Seán O’Casey, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Stephen Crane, Bob Dylan, and other writers, both Irish and American.

The thrust of the evening is inspired by these lines from an address by President John F. Kennedy, given at Amherst College Convocation on October 26th, 1963, one month before he died:

“When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence”

These are times that will be remembered for many years to come, and we all have an opportunity to acknowledge their importance and reflect on their legacy for America and for the world.

Kieran Darragh O’Malley
Artistic Director

For further information, contact: Mary Kelly, Publicity (206) 528-1988, mpkelly@seattleu.edu.

Feel free to download and post our flyer.

The Other Bloomsday - Seattle 2004

James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place on June 16th, 1904. It follows the wanderings of Leopold Bloom, a Jewish everyman, and Stephen Dedalus, a young writer and Joyce’s alter ego, as they wander the streets of Dublin.

The centenary of Bloomsday, June 16th, 2004, is being celebrated worldwide.

The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will present staged readings of chapter 10, “Wandering Rocks”, adapted from the 1922 edition of Ulysses. The readings will take place at the Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music, University of Washington (Map) (Park in N6):

1. Wednesday, June 16th, at 7:30pm
2. Saturday, June 19th, at 3:00pm

Congressman Jim McDermott the part of Leopold Bloom on Saturday 19th.

Entrance is free, but donations are appreciated.

This is our seventh year of Bloomsday readings. (Press Release).

Some pictures from our rehearsals.

Wandering Rocks

The Wandering Rocks chapter is the only chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses with a brief, passing structural relationship to Homer. In Homer, Circe warns Ulysses to avoid the Wandering Rocks because they were dangerous for sea navigation. It is really taken from Jason and the Argonauts’ story of their perilous sea journey back to Corinth with the Golden Fleece.

Joyce was reputed to have used a compass, ruler, set square, map and a timepiece when he was constructing this episode. Here we are first fully introduced to the Dublin of the early twentieth century, a city that the book would eventually immortalise. Neither Stephen Dedalus nor Leopold Bloom dominates the chapter. It is Joyce’s “woman-city”, Dublin that becomes the essence of the story.

This is the central chapter of Joyce’s book, offered in 19 scenes with the 1st one functioning as a classic prologue and the 19th as an epilogue. The Wandering Rocks serves as a bridge between the two halves of the book and a miniature of the whole.

In true Joyce style, he used to play a board game called Labyrinth with his daughter Lucia. What we are witnessing is that labyrinth transported to the streets of Dublin. The characters of the city pass the mid-afternoon hour of 3–4pm. Their comings and goings become framed between the primary journeys of Church and State. Father Conmee represents the Church, and the King’s Governor General and his wife the Lord and Lady Humble Dudley represent the State. The chapter is quite cinematic in its visual presentation. Its conclusion is a city crowded with people walking, talking, running and singing!

Further background information on the Wandering Rocks chapter can be found at the Kennesaw guide to Ulysses and the Joyce portal.

Cast and Crew

Other Events

We will have an evening of Poetry and Music of Evolution and Revolution at the Brechemin Auditorium, on Sat 6th November 2004. Join our announcements list to be notified about future readings.

See our archives for details of our previous readings.

The Other Bloomsday - Seattle 2004 - Pictures

Rehearsals

Photos by George Reilly.

H.E.L.Y. 1

H.E.L.Y. 2

Bloom (Jim McDermott) and the Book (Mary Kelly)

Bloom (Jim McDermott) and the Narrator (Maura Donegan)

Kieran explains something. Jim is having none of it.

Interlude: Emma shows her weaving to Maura.

Dress Rehearsal

Most photos by Frank Maloney.

The musicians jam.

Mrs Sheehy (Maura Donegan) chats with Fr Conmee (Conor Byrne).

Corny Kelleher (Ciaran O’Mahony) and Constable 57-C (Michael Green).

The Earl of Dudley (Lyndol Pullen) and Lady Dudley (Ann Glusker).

Denis J. Maginni (Bill Barnes), Joe Martin, and Olivia Bermingham-McDonogh.

Corny Kelleher (Ciaran O’Mahony) and Constable 57-C (Michael Green).

2004 Bloomsday Press Release

The Other Bloomsday - Press Release

The Wild Geese Players of Seattle will once again be offering a staged reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses called ‘The Other Bloomsday’. This is the seventh year that the group has performed the work. This year is rather special as it is the centenary of Bloomsday, June 16th 1904, the day immortalized by Joyce in Ulysses. Chapter 10, The Wandering Rocks, will be performed. This chapter has been described as a labyrinth that summarizes the day so far, and gives premonitions of the tale to come! The reading will be on Bloomsday, Wednesday, June 16th at 7.30pm in the Brechemin Auditorium at the University of Washington School of Music. A second reading will be held on Saturday June 19th at 3pm, at the Brechemin Auditorium. This is the time that the chapter takes place, so the audience can experience the experience in ‘real time’! The reading is directed by UW child psychiatrist Kieran Darragh O’Malley and includes a multitude of local Irish diaspora and local actors. The Bloomsday reading will be followed by a true celtic celebration of Joyce, conversation, music and craic! Admission is free, as always, but donations will be gratefully accepted and appreciated!

Listen to an interview with director Kieran O’Malley on the NPR show The Beat at 2pm, June 16th, Bloomsday.

Further Information:

Mary Kelly, Publicity: 206 528-1988
Kieran O’Malley: 206 543-7155
www.wildgeeseseattle.org