SCR's Junior Players Present MYTH ADVENTURES: FIVE GREEK CLASSICS, Now thru 3/29

Myth Adventures: Five Greek Classics, adapted by Eric Coble, directed by Mercy Vasquez, will be presented by South Coast Repertory's Junior Players today, March 21-22 and 28-29 in the Nicholas Studio. Tickets are available now at www.scr.org.

The cast of Myth Adventures: Five Greek Classics are members of SCR's Junior Players (grades 6-8), chosen through audition after at least two years in the Theatre Conservatory. These young actors attend class twice a week during the school year, with additional rehearsal time prior to their annual performance.

In Myth Adventures: Five Greek Classics you meet Dionysus. In Greek mythology, he's the God of Revelry, but in this version: he's very mod and with it. Dionysus appears out of the darkness, somewhere along the Mediterranean Sea, to tell five of the world's most famous stories.

"In this interpretation, the ancient gods are gradually being replaced by the modern gods of technology," said director Mercy Vasquez. "Combining elements of the modern/machine world with the natural world to create this landscape has been thought provoking for the cast as they consider how dependent they are on technology themselves."

The Junior Players portray all the roles in Coble's adaptation of these Greek myths. Playing multiple roles challenges them to bring life to each one.

"This has evolved into a very physical production," said Vasquez. She has worked extensively on movement and physical expression. She begins each class with a movement exercise to prepare the young actors for rehearsal, "This has proven to serve them well in this piece which itself begins as a ritual circle."

Vasquez also teaches the Junior Players during the school year she graduated from UCLA with a dual major in English literature and theatre. She received dramatic training at King's College in London, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Acting Intensive Program in SCR's Theatre Conservatory. She has performed on stage at SCR, Garden Grove Playhouse, Theater Theater and Heritage Square Theater.