Transforming the Teen Players’ Talents

They play four or five different characters in multiple stories, with movement, music and text. And then, there’s the mythology—often a favorite among teens. Who doesn’t want to play Zeus, Poseidon or Aphrodite?

It’s a divine mix of challenges for the Teen Players to tackle. Which is exactly why director Hisa Takakuwa chose Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman as this season’s Teen Players production. It begins this Saturday, May 18 and runs through Sunday, May 26 in the Nicholas Studio.

In this Teen Players production, Metamorphoses springs from Ovid’s pages, where mythical gods emerge as featured players bringing to life many familiar tales. Midas turns his daughter to gold with a touch. A doubting Orpheus looks over his shoulder and loses Eurydice forever. Apollo’s son borrows dad’s “car” to disastrous consequences.

Advanced students in grades 9-12 from SCR’s Youth Conservatory, the Teen Players explore the human world, the underworld and everywhere in between in this imaginative and contemporary retelling of classic stories linked by the transformative power of love. The production is broken down into several individual storylines, with the 14 Teen Players portraying multiple roles.

Which is one of the reasons why Takakuwa brought Metamorphoses to the stage for the third time. Earlier ensembles of Teen Players performed this in 2008 and by Zoom in 2020.

“Now, we’re back in 2024 in three dimensions,” Takakuwa said. “The priority in choosing Players shows is always the educational experience. I have different types of scripts that I use to make sure they get a chance to experience different types of productions if they spend several years in the Players.

“This type of script, ensemble storytelling—getting the chance to tell multiple stories and play characters often in multiple styles—is such a good learning experience for them. It really stretches them as actors and tests them as an ensemble. It’s just the right time to do this.”

Takakuwa said the high school-aged Teen Players typically spend three to four years in the company. A production like Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, which provides an appendix at the end of the script that allows companies to tell the stories in varied and multiple ways by adapting different elements, gives Takakuwa another teaching opportunity. She said there are “playlets within the play” that not only make this production different from others, but bring lessons in responsibility and storytelling.

With that versatility, Metamorphoses demands the same of its actors. Some of the Players will create their own sound effects. Some find themselves cast as narrators for the different stories. There is dancing. Every member of the 14-player cast learns not only about first century CE Roman poet Ovid and his legacy of centuries-long influence, but how to tell every facet of his story on stage—with all the acting and storytelling tools in play.

“It’s a mix of heightened and contemporary language and style. Many of the young people love mythology, so it speaks to them,” she said. “As actors in training, it requires them to have to work on so many different levels simultaneously. They have to interact with each other through the traditional text like a straight play, but they’re also interacting with each other musically and interacting through movement.

“They have to really be present and fully integrated with the company on so many different levels. It’s a wonderful challenge for them.”

Metamorphoses is recommended for ages 12 and above, due to brief language and mature themes. Tickets are $15.