The play written by second life resident Skylar Smythe makes its debut in second life on July 11th, the first of four schedule performances at 7 pm PDT/SLT. Hypatia of Alexandria was a Grecian scholar born in the 4th century of the Common Era, who is considered notable as being the first woman in mathematics as well as a teacher of philosophy and astronomy. The play is the first written by Ms Smythe who also stars as the lead and directs the production. The play is based on the life and works of the teacher, mathematician and philosopher who was brutally murdered in a method hideous even by ancient standards, a tragic ending to the life of this remarkable woman.
I arrived at the theatre which had been specially built for the performance and was greeted by both Skylar and her partner Josue Habana. We waited for the site to rezz and then proceeded up the stair way leading to the theater.
“This is the landing point for the beginning of the play. Where the audience comes in … I want them to have the experience of stepping into a museum. What we are going to do is have the museum be the queue for the play let everyone mill about. Then I will step in here, and get everyone’s attentions … welcoming them to step back in time with me, to the School of Athens ... the year 415 AD.” Skylar said as we entered the lobby.
“Why do you feel it’s important for the patrons to have the experience of stepping into a museum?” I asked.
“Because, Hypatia was deprived of her rightful place in history ... There is so little is known about her, and that was deliberately done. It angers me that so many people have no clue who she was.” She replied.
“I saw this quote from an interview you’d done previously,""While studying the painting ‘The School of Athens’ (Raphael), I came across a haunting figure in the piece, a woman who stared stoic from the painting, and straight into my soul ", Was that your first introduction to Hypatia and where did you see the painting?” I asked.
“My Nonno (Grandpa) was an Italian poet. He was published once. He had shown me the painting in a picture book. I described it to my friend, Explorer Dastardley (aka Helen Starr - Holocaust Lecturer). She knew EXACTLY the painting I meant. She gave me a print for my SL house... and we began to discuss why I thought the painting was so memorable. As I looked up the various philosophers in the painting, my eyes kept going back to her. Hypatia grabbed me. I looked her up... was intrigued since I knew nothing about her. And then ... it all began ... my affiliating with her character ... Being inspired by her dedication to making her society a better place, even forsaking the comforts of sex and love and marriage ... children. True altruism and they killed her for it … and the great conspiracy to wipe her from the history books ... label her a heretic? As a Christian and a woman... that offended me. So I decided I would tell her story from a woman’s perspective. I wanted people TO KNOW her … and I wanted women to feel empowered ... and outraged. ” She replied.
“When did you start writing the play?”
“I started in January, writing one sonnet at a time and showing my friends. I had never written Shakespearean Sonnets before … and I did not find that dialogue, in the past, had been my strong point as a writer. It was a challenge, and a great stretch, skills wise. But I found the sonnets ... just came to me so easily. The whole story did.” She responded to my question and then added, “The cast features a combination of seasoned and new actors. I felt this was important, and it was a goal from the beginning. Some theatre in SL is very ‘establishment’. I wanted to give new talent an opportunity to shine … and they are amazing, the entire group of them.”
“The actors will be performing their lines in voice chat?” I asked
“Yes ... There are challenges with that, but we will be doing it live and in voice.”
“When I spoke briefly with Josue the other day, he had mentioned there is some outside of SL interest in the play ... would you like to see it performed in real life?”
“That would be a dream come true … and a promise come true to my late Grandfather. “Skylar said in reply
We spoke for several more minutes and she shared with me the plans and scene for the plays end. I promised not to share them in the article, but suffice it to say patrons will be surprised. After, I asked her if she any closing thoughts for my readers and she replied.
“Yes … I hope this will be the first in a series of women in history. I have about two books of notes on Jezebel.” She replied and then added, “After being inspired by the academic and all around saint ... I thought it would be fun to embrace a biblical bad girl.”
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