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Hurricane Diane is a co-production between New York Theatre Workshop and WP Theater. The following piece is written by guest contributor Caity Cook, Artistic Intern at WP.

For theatre artists, retellings of classic work can be rich opportunities to open a dialogue with the theatrical canon and put their twist on a familiar story. These retellings can range from attempts to capture the staging of a bygone era to contemporary spins that update the stories for modern audiences.

For queer artists, as well as for artists of color or artists from other historically marginalized groups, these retellings take on a particular political resonance. We often consider the enduring strength of classic stories to stem from their universality and ability to “reveal human truths.” However, when we stop to consider the fact that these works often center on predominantly white, heterosexual men or couples, this universality becomes problematized. Reframing classic narratives through a queer lens serves the dual purpose of correcting the absence of queer people in the originals and asserting that queer experiences, not just heterosexual ones, can have universal appeal.

Queer retellings of classic works appear in all disciplines and genres, from YA novels to television series to plays. The myth of Dionysus (or Bacchus), which Madeleine George reworks in Hurricane Diane, is a story particularly ripe for queering. Dionysus is the god of fruitfulness, and is particularly celebrated as the god of wine and ecstasy. The god found particular resonance with women, and his followers, referred to as bacchites, celebrated lavish festivals called bacchanalia in his honor. This focus on women set the stage for George to re-cast the Greek god as a butch woman, thereby calling into question the idea of the male figure as the epitome of seduction and the heterosexual dynamic between the god and their followers as the peak of ecstasy and desire. In doing so, a group of people excluded from traditional interpretations of the classic myth are able to see themselves reflected and honored in the story.

In VICE magazine, journalist Lindsay King-Miller asserts that though queer retellings of classic stories are not the only way that queer people should be visible in media, they’re an extremely powerful one:

Of course, queer retellings are only a small facet of a larger movement toward LGBTQ representation and visibility in every corner of art and culture, but they're a crucial one. We'll never stop telling new stories and exploring underrepresented aspects of the human experience, but retelling old stories from a queer point of view adds something unique: the recognition that the stories that connect us across cultures and generations belong to all of us, LGBTQ people included.

Sources: @ This Stage Magazine and VICE. Images: VICE and Asbury Park Press.

Our upcoming production of Hurricane Diane reimagines the Greek god Dionysus as a permaculture gardener dripping with butch charm. She returns to the modern world to gather mortal followers and restore the Earth to its natural state...starting with four housewives in a suburban New Jersey cul-de-sac.

But this isn't our first time reimagining a Greek classic! Scroll down and take an inside look into New York Theatre Workshop and WP Theater archives as we celebrate previous reimaginings of the Greeks.

The Brooklyn Trojan Women (1993, WP) By Carole Braverman Directed by Margot Breier Pictured: Adam Barnett & Ariane Brandt Photographer: Martha Holmes

Phaedra in Delirium (1998, WP) By Susan Yankowitz Directed by Alison Summers Pictured: Kathleen Chalfant & Peter Jay Fernandez Photographer: Martha Holmes

Antigone Project (2004, WP) By Tanya Barfield, Karen Hartman, Chiori Miyagawa, Lynn Nottage, & Caridad Svich Directed by Annie Dorsen, Dana I. Harrel, Anne Kauffman, Barbara Rubin, & Liesl Tommy Pictured: Jeanine Serralles & Angel Desai Photographer: T. Charles Erickson

Oedipus at Palm Springs (2005, NYTW) Text by The Five Lesbian Brothers Directed by Leigh Silverman Pictured: Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy & Lisa Kron Photographer: Joan Marcus

The Seven (2006, NYTW) Text and Composition by Will Power Directed and Developed by Jo Bonney Choreographed by Bill T. Jones Pictured: Jamyl Dobson, Flaco Navaja, Postell Pringle, Manuel Herrera, Pearl Sun, Shawtane Monroe Bowen & Uzo Aduba Photographer: Carol Rosegg

An Iliad (2012, NYTW) Text by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare Adaptation from Homer's Iliad Translated by Robert Fagles Directed by Lisa Peterson Pictured: Denis O'Hare Photographer: Joan Marcus

The Events (2015, NYTW) Text by David Greig Music by John Browne Directed by Ramin Gray Pictured: Clifford Samuel & Neve McIntosh Photographer: Matthew Murphy

Hadestown (2016, NYTW) By Anaïs Mitchell Developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin Pictured: Jessie Shelton, Shaina Taub, Lulu Fall, Amber Gray & Patrick Page Photography: Joan Marcus

It is great to see how more and more players in the industry jump on the band wagon to move toward equality for women in Hollywood. Thank you Indigenous Media!

"MADE BY WOMEN" INCUBATOR

AN OPEN LETTER FROM JON AVNET AND RODRIGO GARCIA

When it comes to women in Hollywood, the statistics aren’t pretty.   Women may be 51% of the population but they are an appalling minority when it comes to serving as directors or showrunners. In 2014, only 19 percent of the top shows had female showrunners and only 2 percent of the films were directed by women.

At Indigenous Media, we believe that diversity is crucial to good storytelling and we have always believed that enabling women to get their voices heard is also good business.

That’s why we are teaming up with some of the most successful women in the industry, as well as a coalition of female-oriented storytelling organizations, to launch an incubator aimed at producing dramatic series written and directed by women.

Our team of mentors includes Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland), Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou), Sarah Treem (The Affair), Betty Thomas (Private Parts) and Mimi Leder (The Leftovers).  They will be working hands-on with talented new filmmakers submitted by the PGA’s Women’s Impact Network (West), the Women’s Project Lab, the Alliance of Women Directors, Film Fatales, The Kilroys, Women In Film (Los Angeles) and The Lillys.

Indigenous Media will pair five female storytellers with established mentors. Each mentor will guide and encourage each new voice through the process of creating and bringing her project to life. For each pair, Indigenous Media will finance a short pilot, with the potential to produce and fund a full-length version. 

This is just the first step in bringing diversity back to storytelling. As we grow, so will the opportunities for new and undiscovered talent.

- Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia -

MENTORS

Lesli Linka Glatter

Lesli Linka Glatter is a DGA Award winning, Oscar and Emmy-nominated director of film and premium television drama series. Lesli began her directing career through AFI's Directing Workshop for Women. Some of her most recent credits include Executive Producer/Director of Homeland and director of The Newsroom, The Walking Dead,Justified, Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex.

Betty Thomas

Betty Thomas is an Emmy-winning director and producer. Her film credits include The Brady Bunch Movie, 28 Days and Dr. Dolittle. She's currently finishing an Untitled Pilot for Disney.

Mimi Leder

Mimi Leder is an Emmy-winning director, producer and the first woman accepted to study cinematography at the American Film Institute. In 1997, Mimi directed DreamWorks' first theatrical release, The Peacemaker, and followed it the next year with another action hit, Deep Impact. Currently, Mimi is Executive Producer/Director of the HBO hit series, The Leftovers.

Kasi Lemmons

Kasi Lemmons is an actor and film director. In 1997, she wrote and directed her first feature film, Eve's Bayou, for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature as well an award for Outstanding Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review. Some of her other credits include The Caveman's Valentine, Talk to Me and Black Nativity.

Sarah Treem

Sarah Treem is a television creator-writer-producer and playwright known for incorporating many female roles into her work. Along with writing and producing for HBO's In Treatment and Netflix's House of Cards, Sarah is the creator, writer and executive producer for the Golden Globe-winning Showtime hitThe Affair.

ORGANIZATIONS

Alliance of Women Directors fosters a community of professionals to advance the art, craft and visibility of women directors in the world of film, television and new media.

Film Fatales is a global network of women filmmakers who meet regularly to mentor each other, share resources, collaborate on projects and build a supportive community in which to make their films.

The Kilroys are a gang of playwrights and producers in Los Angeles who are done talking about gender parity and are taking action. 

The Lilly Awards Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to celebrate the work of women in the theater and promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production.

Producers Guild of America, Women's Impact Network, West (PGA WIN West) provides education and access for female producers, as well as raising awareness through research and information-sharing with industry decision makers. 

Women in Film, Los Angeles, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for women, encouraging creative projects by women, and expanding and enhancing portrayals of women in all forms of global media.

Women's Project Theater Lab (WP Theater) supports female-identified theater artists and the world-class, groundbreaking work they create, and provides a platform where their voices can be heard and celebrated on the American stage.

HOW IT WORKS

Beginning February 17, Indigenous Media will team up with an esteemed group of mentors and a coalition of female-oriented storytelling organizations to launch an incubator aimed at producing a dramatic television series, created by women.

Each organization will hand select three candidates, and Indigenous Media will narrow down this list of candidates and assign them to the mentors. Based on the writing samples, each mentor will select a final candidate.