Presenter Resources
Homer’s Coat’s
AN ILIAD
Written By Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare
Based on Homer’s Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles
Directed by Lisa Peterson
Starring Denis O’Hare
DESCRIPTION
The power of Homer’s age-old story is unleashed on to a modern audience in a contemporary retelling created by acclaimed director Lisa Peterson and actor Denis O’Hare (Tony Award winner, HBO’s True Blood and The Good Wife). Smartly conceived and powerfully performed, the familiar tale of gods and goddesses, undying love and endless battle become a breathtaking tour-de-force. A sweeping account of humanity’s unshakeable attraction to violence, destruction and chaos that begs the question: has anything really changed since the Trojan War?
Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson are founding members of Homer's Coat - a creative collective that explores foundational literature. An actor and a director respectively, they both develop, write and edit the pieces they make together. The creative process differs according to subject matter but the lens through which they view the theatrical medium makes for unique, energetic, imaginative performative experiences. Together they created the stage piece, An Iliad over a period of 5 years, utilizing video, video transcriptions, improvisation, original music, and diligent research.
VIDEO
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PARTICULARS
Live music is a key component to the work on stage. Denis O’Hare is joined onstage by a live bassist who punctuates the poet’s story through music.
Set design: When touring, the work responds in a bespoke way to each stage environment. Music stands, chairs, curtains, road boxes and more should kindly be made available to be used onstage by the team.
They are also working on a commission from the McCarter Theatre in Princeton called THE SONG OF ROME, which is a solo for a female performer, and picks up where AN ILIAD leaves off, with the destruction of Troy, and follows Aeneas through the founding of Rome, examining the idea of government and empire, both the rise and the fall.
SCRIPT
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TECHNICAL RIDER
SCHEDULE
Per Presenter
Pre Hang
2 Days Before 1st Performance
Focus
Scource Scenery
Sound Check
1 Day Before 1st Performance
Tech
Day of 1st Performance
Work Notes
Performance
PERSONNEL
7-8 Personnel
(director and scenic designer can share accomodations)
- Director
- Performer
- Bassist
- Production Manager
- Stage Manager
- Scenic Designer
- Audio Supervisor
- Tour Producer
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle, WA)
McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, NJ)
New York Theatre Workshop (New York, NY)
State University of New York (Purchase, NY)
Adelaide Festival (Adelaide, Australia)
Wellington Festival (Wellington, New Zealand)
Scottsdale PAC (Scottsdale, AZ)
Clarice Smith PAC (College Park, MD)
Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)
Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans, LA)
Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (Cairo, Egypt)
Santiago A Mil Festival (Santiago, Chile)
NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center (UAE)
Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Sibiu, Romania)
Great Theatre of China Theater Festival (Shanghai, China)
Arts Emerson (Boston, MA)
Theatre Du Rond Point (Paris, FR)
PRESS
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KEY ARTISTS
LISA PETERSON
Lisa Peterson is a two-time OBIE award winning director and writer. She created and co-wrote An Iliad, with Denis O’Hare, based on Homer’s epic poem. She also recently directed their second collaboration, The Good Book, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Last summer she reimagined and remounted her musical adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, with music by David Bucknam and Adam Gwon, at New York Stage & Film. In addition to many classic plays, Lisa has directed the premieres of new works by Donald Margulies, Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, Naomi Wallace, Caryl Churchill, Janusz Glowacki, Marlane Meyer, Culture Clash, Jose Rivera and many others at theaters including NYTW The Public, Vineyard, MTC, Primary Stages, Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, Guthrie, Actors Theater of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, McCarter, Arena Stage, OSF, and many more.
HOMER’S COAT
Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson are founding members of Homer's Coat - a creative collective that explores foundational literature. An actor and a director respectively, they both develop, write and edit the pieces they make together. The creative process differs according to subject matter but the lens through which they view the theatrical medium makes for unique, energetic, imaginative performative experiences. Together they created the stage piece, AN ILIAD, over a period of 5 years, utilizing video, video transcriptions, improvisation, original music, and diligent research. Their latest work, The GOOD BOOK, examines faith and the creation of the Christian bible over centuries, and is currently running at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. They are also working on a commission from the McCarter Theatre in Princeton called THE SONG OF ROME, which is a solo for a female performer, and picks up where AN ILIAD leaves off, with the destruction of Troy, and follows Aeneas through the founding of Rome, examining the idea of government and empire, both the rise and the fall.
DENIS O’HARE
Denis O’Hare is the co-author, along with Lisa Peterson, of the award winning Solo Performance Play, "An Iliad" (Obie, Lucille Lortel awards) and “The Good Book” which premiered at the Court Theatre and recently had its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep. Denis wrote and starred in his first feature length film, The Parting Glass, directed by Stephen Moyer. Denis most recently starred in Tartuffe at the National in London. His Broadway credits include Elling, Inherit the Wind, Sweet Charity (Drama Desk award) Assassins (Tony nom), Take Me Out (Tony Award, Drama Desk, Obie and Lucille Lortel awards), Major Barbara, Cabaret andRacing Demon. His off-Broadway credits include Helen, Silence, Cunning, Exile and Into the Woods (The Public Theater), Vienna Lusthaus and An Iliad (New York Theatre Workshop – Obie award) and Pig Farm(Roundabout).
His film credits include The Goldfish, Late Night with Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, The Day Shall Come, Private Life, Lizzie, Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive, Novitiate, From Nowhere, The Normal Heart, Dallas Buyers Club, C.O.G., The Eagle, 5,000 Feet is the Best, Edge of Darkness, The Proposal, An Englishman in New York, Duplicity, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Milk, Changeling, Baby Mama, Charlie Wilson’s War, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, Rocket Science, Half Nelson, Garden State, 21 Grams, The Anniversary Party, Sweet and Lowdown. Denis has also appeared in a number of television series including 5 seasons on American Horror Story, 2 seasons on True Blood and 2 seasons on This is Us. Some of his other television work includes When We Rise, The Good Wife, The Comedians, Banshee, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU,CSI: Miami, Brothers and Sisters, Bored to Death, and 100 Centre Street.