The Quince
This fruit might take the prize for being the least recognizable of the Forbidden Fruit pantheon…I hadn't heard of it before working on this show! Today, we’re talking about The Quince.
Fitting for such a unique fruit, this is the only room to feature the work of a playwright (Josie Seid), a musical director (Joellen Sweeney), and not one, but three performers (Max Tapogna, Madeline Ross, and Joellen Sweeney). Returning StT collaborators Joellen Sweeney and Josie Seid provide some details on the conception of this fruit’s story…
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In 8 words, how would you describe the world of this room?
Joellen: Seductive, succulent, soft, ravenous, cheeky.
Josie: Dangerous, irresistible, magnetic, convicting, mysterious.
Did you pick your fruit? What drew you to it?
Joellen: When I joined the team to write the music, I didn't really know what a quince was; I'd never tasted it. As I researched, I came to respect it as a complex and storied fruit. I was drawn to details like the fact that it smells delicious on the tree, but is too astringent to eat raw--it draws you in and then bites you back.
Josie: I did pick the fruit. I was really drawn in by the possibility of going into the world of myth around the quince or the golden apple. I am a lover of fairytales and mythology, so it was exactly what I was excited to write about. The fact that it was a song and being able to work more closely with Joellen who I had worked with on Fucking A sealed the deal, and made it irresistible to me.
Where did you begin with building a story? Has your concept transformed over time?
Joellen: In our early conversations as a Quince cast, we talked a lot about the Greek myth of the Golden Apple of Discord. The "golden apple" that sparked the contest between Hera, Aphrodite and Athena (that in turn led to the Trojan War) was a quince. Quinces were also given to Hera as a wedding gift, and were kept safe in a garden by the daughters of Hesperides, goddesses-nymphs of evening. So we started with these myths and ranged widely!
Josie: I was also drawn to that idea of those things that we pursue so fervently. How does it change you when you get it? What did you sacrifice? Is it what you expected? I wanted to play with that idea of the secrets that drive you to pursue something and why; and what will your next obsession be?
Are there texts, tales, or real-world events that have inspired your work on this piece?
Joellen: Early on, each singer in our room shared what kind of music they most loved to sing (Joni Mitchell, Ernest Chausson and Kurt Weill, respectively) and Josie and I drew on those inspirations to craft each character's solo. For the group singing, I was inspired by the works of Caroline Shaw, Dahk Daughters and Vokalselskabet Glas.
As we begin physically devising and rehearsing, what are you curious about exploring?
Joellen: I'm most curious what it will be like to share this piece in such an intimate setting with the audience!
Josie: I’m so interested to know what people will be thinking. Will they be purely watching the story or will they be thinking about those things that they have pursued or those secrets that they have?
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Forbidden Fruit runs March 4th - April 1st. Book your tickets here.
~Kai