PTC plunges into production

You could say that Pioneer Theatre Company is getting its 2005-06 season off with a splash. Actually, some splashing, wading and swimming . . . in two pools of water.

PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey first saw Mary Zimmerman's "Metamorphoses" — based on nearly a dozen Greek myths found in Roman poet Ovid's epic poem — in early 2002 on Broadway.

"My first response was that I really love this piece and wondered how we could do it here," Morey said. "And I knew that I wanted to direct it."

For the first couple of years, the playwright herself — or one of her assistants — was the only one allowed to direct "Metamorphoses." But when the general rights became more widely available, Morey was able to fit it into this year's season. "No one has ever seen anything quite like this play around here. If you have any interest in theater, this is the play to see."

Many of the piece's previous productions, including those in New York City, were in slightly smaller venues with thrust-type stages, utilizing only one large, shallow pool of water. And Morey is quick to point out that "the water is a character in the play and cannot be ignored. It's sort of the basic theatrical metaphor for the play."

Zimmerman's script is adapted from David R. Slavitt's translation of Ovid's epic poem. "Everything about it is completely accessible," said Morey. "You need no previous knowledge of Greek mythology or Ovid. The play is anything but heavy or dull or dry — no pun intended — or academic. It's very light, and some sections of it are very, very funny. The language is utterly contemporary."

If there's a connecting link between the stories in "Metamorphoses," it's the theme of transformation, and the two pools of water on the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre stage represent the element of transformation.

Resident PTC Scenery Designer George Maxwell noted that the basic design work on the project began in May and "went through quite a few different stages before we arrived at this."

Basically, what Maxwell and his team have done is build a heated swimming pool in what would normally be the orchestra pit. It's almost five feet deep and is filled with 50,000 pounds of water, heated to "bath water" temperature.

Morey and Maxwell both noted that the size and configuration of PTC's stage — which has both limitations and advantages — made two pools work better than one.