Gilgamesh - A Verse Play

Actors Scene Unseen teams Pulitzer winning author Yusef Komunyakaa and dramaturg Chad Gracia with Grammy nominated composer / musician Rahim AlHaj for a dramatic and entertaining adaptation of Gilgamesh, A Verse Play on Audio CD. First told over 5000 years ago, the epic story of Gilgamesh is considered by scholars to be the oldest example of narrative literature. It is the archtype for all hero quests including Star Wars and the Greek and Roman epics. The characters and sounds in this rich audio adaptation will transport you back to ancient Uruk, the cradle of civilization. This CD is a masterful adaptation of Gilgamesh replete with love, monsters, battles, and redemption.

Gilgamesh is set in Uruk, a city in what is now war-torn southern Iraq. In the tale, Uruk is tormented by its self-absorbed and cruel king, Gilgamesh. Enkidu, a wild-man tamed by the touch of a woman confronts Gilgamesh, but the rivalry of these two heroes unexpectedly evolves into an epic friendship. After Enkidu's untimely death, Gilgamesh sets off in pursuit of the secret of eternal life. Through his epic hero's journey, he learns that he cannot escape mortality and is transformed into a King forever remembered by his people.

Yusef Komunyakaa's books of poems include Neon Vernacular, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. His honors include the William Faulkner Prize, the Thomas Forcade Award, the Hanes Poetry Prize, fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, the Louisiana Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Chad Gracia (Dramaturg) is the former Executive Director of Inverse Theater, where he acted as producer and dramaturg to the award winning playwright Kirk Wood Bromley. In addition to his work in the theater, Gracia has published extensively on Middle Eastern society and politics.

Rahim AlHaj (Composer) was born in Baghdad and began playing the oud at age nine. AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and moved to the US in 2000. He was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for his album When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq, produced by Smithsonian Folkways.

Elizabeth Peterson-Vita is co-founder and Creative Director of Actors Scene Unseen. A psychologist, interested in mythology and world literature, she has directed numerous plays with historical themes including Nijinsky's Last Dance, The Canterbury Tales, Slaughterhouse-Five, and the American premiere of Jack The Musical, The Ripper Pursued.  more