The Homeric Project

THE HOMERIC PROJECT

The Homeric Project was originated by Dr. Gary Stickel in 2004 with the goal of introducing new audiences to Homer's classic poems: THE ILIAD and THE ODYSSEY. Dr. Stickel is an archaeologist who was given the honor by the Greek government to excavate at the legendary birthplace of Achilles, located in Thessaly, Greece. Dr. Stickel has loved Homer's great epics ever since he was a boy and his parents bought him a beautiful children's book version of the epics, which were illustrated in the traditional Classical Greek style (ca. 400-500 BC). Dr. Stickel decided to provide new versions of the stories for children. He wrote these versions in simple rhyming verse, in couplets. The resulting children's-length poems are 35 pages each for The Iliad and The Odyssey. He did this because he wanted children to understand that the original stories were poems, although of great length: 16,000 lines of poetry for The Iliad and 12,000 lines for The Odyssey. By contrast, Dr. Stickel jokes that what he has written are the "Cliff Notes" of the original epics, at about 300 lines each. Also, Dr. Stickel -- who is an artist -- decided to illustrate his versions with a series of paintings depicting major aspects of the stories. He illustrated in the sylized manner of the Greek Bronze Age, the designs of which are quite different from Classical Greece (in terms of architecture, costumes, armor and weapons and landscape). He spent many years collecting Greek Bronze Age images from murals from ancient sites, pottery designs, figurines and statuettes, and jewelry. The result has been that each painting is composed of design elements taken from the different sources. Therefore, he feels, the paintings are more accurate representations of the stories than what has been presented (for the most part) in the past. The series of paintings (which are ongoing) is shown below.

Also in 2004, Dr. Stickel decided to produce music based on the epics. Initially, he commissioned a symphony based on The Iliad. That effort resulted in the first ballet based on The Iliad, entitled, "ILIOS" (the ancient Greek name for Troy; The Iliad means "Poem of Ilios"). In August of 2007 Dr. Stickel decided to transform the ballet into the world's first full-length opera, also with the name, "ILIOS". He is working that part of the Homeric Project with the composer Roger Bellon, and the libretto for the opera has just been completed (however the music may take a year or more to properly complete). This website will keep you posted on the progress of this exciting epic opera.

In addition, the Homeric Project has been performing Dr. Stickel's poems as plays, again in order to expose new audiences to Homer's epics. So, in 2004, the Synthaxis Theatre Company nicely agreed to produce Dr. Stickel's "The Iliad" Poem. That play was directed by Estelle Busch and Mary Mann, and was performed in October, 2004, at the Raven Playhouse in North Hollywood. Subsequently the same play was produced and performed by the First Stage Theater Company at it's theater in Hollywood, in April of 2007. Then Synthaxis produced Dr. Stickel's "The Odyssey" play at the Raven Playhouse (to a sold-out audience) in January 2007 and at the Maurice Sendak School in North Hollywood in May of 2007. A new production of "The Odyssey" is currently being directed by Mrs. Cici Lau with a new, terrific cast. So far, this production has been performed at the Wilshire Library in Los Angeles (December 2007), at City Hall in the City of Monterey Park (January 2008), and at the Malibu Methodist Church (February 2008). The first published review of these plays was by The Citizen's Voice newspaper of the San Gabriel Valley, which stated:

"The audience was mesmerized by the wonderful performance. They fell under
the spell of Penelope, Odysseus, Athena and the three Sirens."

"This production was magnificent and educational. The Odyssey should have an
encore production for more residents to enjoy. It should also be videotaped and
replayed on Channel 55 for the enjoyment of all."

-- The Citizen's Voice
(see full review below)

This enthusiastic review is due in large part to the excellent job of directing the play by Cici Lau. If you'd like to see upcoming performances of "The Odyssey," note the following. Future productions of "The Odyssey" will include one at the United Methodist Church in the City of Alhambra on Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 4:00 PM, sponsored by the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. Also, there will be a forthcoming performance of "The Odyssey" at the beautiful Taper Theater at the Los Angeles Central Library (the date to be arranged).

It is gratifying to Dr. Stickel that the Homeric Project is resonating so well and enthusiastically with audiences. Mrs. Cici Lau is striving hard with Dr. Stickel to bring the performances to as many people as possible, especially children. If the reader is interested in seeing these performances or reading the poems, please contact us. Also, keep contacting this website for updates on the performances of the plays, the world premier of the opera "ILIOS", and for publication of the poems and the paintings available for sale.

Contact information: phone: (323) 937-6997; e-mail: dregarystickel@peoplepc.com