Penelope
What happens when a nursing home decides to throw out the bingo boards and take on the Odyssey instead? Penelope tells the story of how residents, some with severe dementia or wheel-chair bound, collaborate with playwright Anne Basting and Sojourn Theater to create “Finding Penelope”, a play reinterpreting Homer’s Odyssey to tell it from Penelope’s point of view. As we learned, some heroes stay at home!
The film is a beautiful exploration of how the residents, actors and students collaborated, from reading the Odyssey together to learning Greek and eventually putting on a professional play featuring scenes all over the nursing home and an audience of over 400 moving through the space. Whether you want to be entertained, you work with older adults, you’re an artist or you are looking for your own adventure — you’ll love Penelope.
Production Team & Partners
For 371 Productions
Director: Brad Lichtenstein; Producer: Brad Lichtenstein; Additional Camera: Brad Lichtenstein; Editor: Matt Lauterbach; Co-writer: Matt Lauterbach; Producers: Kaleigh Atkinson, Arthur Ircink; Camera: Arthur Ircink; Sound: Kaleigh Atkinson; Additional Sound: Nicole Docta
Many Thanks To
Luther Manor, Sojourn Theater, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center on Age and Community, and The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts and Department of Theater
