About The Odyssey
The core idea for this project, to memorize all the books of the Odyssey and perform them as a 24-hour solo performance, appeared after 9 years of sporadic self-study of the Ancient Greek language. In the decade since, site-specific performances of the first three books have been completed with Books 4 and 5 in development. The next step is to string Books 1-4 together in a 6-hour piece of solo theater.
The project was recently awarded a NYSCA Support for Artists grant to develop Book 4 at The Cherry in Ithaca, NY. It has received additional residencies with Mercury Store, Invulnerable Nothings, and Theaterlab. It has been featured in The New Yorker, American Theater, and The Brooklyn Rail, and Book 2 was presented in the Live Arts in Nyack Phoenix Festival.
By bringing one of humanity’s foundational works to life in the language in which it was first sung nearly three millennia ago, this Odyssey invites audiences into a rare encounter with the origins of storytelling, theater, and the enduring questions of what it means to be human.
About Joseph
Photo by G
Joseph is a theater artist living in NYC. He has been seen on Broadway in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women, Groundhog Day, Matilda, Doctor Zhivago, Wicked, West Side Story, White Christmas, Guys & Dolls, Grease and Big. He has performed in NYC at Lincoln Center, Second Stage, City Center, and The York.
He began making solo theater in 2015, beginning with The Study, a close-quarters solo performance for two audience members, and soon after began working on the Odyssey in Ancient Greek.
In addition to performances, Joseph has been a guest presenter in a number of academic settings, including the University of Pennsylvania, The Paideia Institute’s Living Latin in New York conference, CUNY’s Latin/Greek Institute, and various high schools English classes.
Joseph has a BFA in Musical Theater from the University of Cincinnati and a Graduate Certificate in Classics from Columbia University.