Directed by Seth Grimgart
Project Links
Orpheus is pursued by the followers of Bacchus, but they pause to sing the praises of the god of wine.
The centerpiece of this film is a live performance of a scene from the 1607 edition of the libretto for Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” (no music extant). It has been enhanced with studio and location video, archival performance art footage, a percussion track and old 78s of Greek tavern songs. Introducing this eventually evolved into a TV show which became part of the sequence. The clown at the beginning (demonstrating the “clown turn”) is from the live show. Clowning, transvestitism and crude humor appeared in Monteverdi’s works (pre-figuring Commedia dell’Arte) often extraneous to the plot. All of this is an attempt to capture the spirit of Venetian opera of the era,
Director Biography
Born in town of “Two Egg” on the Florida panhandle; educated sporadically at Tulane and FSU before heading north during the great radical migration. In New York, worked as artist (storyboards for ad agencies), actor (Manhattan Theatre Club, La Mama,etc., NJ Shakespeare Festival, Judson Poets, PBS TV, WBAI radio, summer stock etc.) Original works at the Public Theatre and under the auspices of Composers Collaborative, Inc and The Genesius Guild. Long running Village variety series “Ave. A Conspiracy” which the Voice called “…a lower east side vaudevillian extravaganza…” and termed Grimgart “the prince of perversion himself.”
Director Statement
Creating video is a realization. Clips are objects to assemble in a design on the screen like a collage. Images overlap, sounds blend and the real story emerges. Of course, it takes real writing, real camerawork and real acting to get that all that started.
Experimental Film & Music Video Festival 