Teens! What are you going to do with them? One minute they are listening to strange music, the next minute they are texting while driving or being swallowed into the underworld.
Wait. What?
Only if you are in a Greek myth, that is. In the story of Persephone a young maiden is out picking flowers one day when she is abducted into the underworld. Without the convenience of a cell phone she can’t call her mom, Demeter, the Harvest Goddess. Demeter, saddened, cannot care for the plants and winter spreads over the land while Persephone is off having her own adventures in the underworld. Once Persephone returns, the delighted Demeter brings the plants back to life and the first spring arrives.
This ancient myth will be told through spectacular puppets, song and dance at the Mill Spring Ag Center on Friday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at the newly renovated Ag Center Auditorium.
Mike Odle, Master Gardener, organic farmer at CooperRiis and cofounder of The Art Farm with his wife, Finn, has presented shows like this in the past but “not such a large undertaking as this one,” he said.
Gilberto Sibrian, a WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms Volunteer), joined CooperRiis in January. He and the Odles came up with the idea for the show. Sibrian, a former intern at the Paperhand Puppet Intervention Theater in Chapel Hill, N.C., brought with him his experience at building the large papier maché puppets that are used throughout the show.
The show is open to the public for a small fee at the door. Popcorn and snacks will be sold as well. Donations will go to the Ag Center auditorium and to the CooperRiis scholarship fund.
– article submitted by Mike Odle