The Rise and Fall of Adam & Eve

A devised adaptation of “The Creation” from the Wakefield Mystery Cycle

The University of Lethbridge, MainStage 2017/2018

Directed by Mia van Leeuwen + Assistant Director Ashley Rittinger

Devised by the Company: Katie Ogden-Boyes, Brent Clark, Richard Cole, Oluseyi Dada, Amara Hellman, Jordyn Nixon, Kaitlyn Olfert, Jordan Payne, Daniel J. Perryman, and Anastasia Siceac

Elements of “The Creation” text adapted by Justin A. Blum

Projection Design by David O’Donnell + Sound Design by Corey Ariss

Production Photography by Jamie Vedres

The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve is an original performance created through a devising process that responded to the medieval mystery play “The Creation” as a starting point. Inherent in the process, devised theatre often poses the question: what is theatre? – a necessary query that continues to challenge, renew, and energize the form. This approach also invites all those involved (directors, performers, designers, technicians) to take an artistic leap into the unknown as the work emerges and evolves over time.

There is no one method of devising theatre: the process is unique to the backgrounds, interests, and desires of those involved. Devising usually allows for a high level of agency for the actor-creators to contribute to the work. For our production, students were asked to bring in their own research interests related to the story of Adam and Eve. Podcasts, songs, articles, images, cartoons, poetry and more came into the room. As director, I provided a map that outlined a possible sequence of events to work within and sculpted space for the multiple perspectives of the research to be held. The map also contained performance concepts and approaches to story-telling that resulted in a variety of representations: video-montage, sound-collage, illustrative physical theatre, podcast-improvisation, and text translations of excerpts from “The Creation” into other languages (Yoruba and Romanian). Also, the story of Eve and her role in the fall of humanity was questioned and reconsidered in our telling.