I am Circe
“I am Circe” is a devised performance research project that focuses on the mythological character of Circe. The elements explored in the research are: the hero/heroine’s journey, anger as the primary force behind the process of transformation and the human relationship to nature.
The best-known legend is told in Homer'sOdyssey. Manly known for transforming men into pigs through the use of magic, potions and herbs. Odysseus meets Circe on her island on his long journey back home. Here she changes most of his crew into pigs and becomes his lover for a year. In most literature, Circe has been taken as the archetype of the predatory female, this behaviour made her notorious both as a ruthless witch and as a type of sexually free woman.
Circe was written by men who depicted her with eyes embedded in the patriarchal system they belonged to. However, in the recent Madeline Miller’s novel“Circe”, the character finds her voice. Her life journey is revealed and we getto know it from her point of view. Born in a god’s men world, she feels out of place having to conform to a system she didn’t choose. Her falling in love and imagining a happy ending turns into an illusion, and out of rage for not meeting her desires, she discovers her powers. It’s only though when exiled in the island of Aiaia, alone, immersed in nature, that she becomes a master of transformation, a so-called “witch”.
Circe has been the symbol for ultimate outcast for centuries, however by owning her story she becomes a heroine that questions all the structures in which she was born, and finding her way into authenticity trough building a deep relationship with nature. The patriarchal system over centuries has caused oppression on the human being as a whole and transformed our relationship to nature by separating us from it. Overall, the project wants to bring to life, through performance, the myth, bringing the participants and spectators closer to themselves and closer to earth in the light of the current human/climate crisis.
'I am Circe' workshop
Room to Bloom Festival, Celebrating Postcolonial and Ecofeminist Art and Activism,
STPLN, Malmo, Sweden, 2022; Centre Français de Berlin, Germany, 2022
The workshop is an open invitation to explore the hero/heroine journey as a way to understand human conditioning and agency in the face of global political and environmental issues. The workshop draws from elements of storytelling, through a diverse range of methodologies and practices participants will be guided to express themselves beyond the body-mind construct to deepen their understanding of their individual hero/heroine journeys.
Testimonials
“I had high expectations for this workshop and somehow Luisa still managed to top them. From the beginning, I felt safe in the environment and with having her as a guide I could let myself go easily, without ever feeling judged by her or the other participants.This was a huge thing for me to be able to actually take advantage and fully enjoy the experience. I absolutely loved the theme of the hero/heroine’s journey, it brought different feelings and ways to approach the listening to my inner workings.”
“I was able to start connecting with my body through movement and meditation and that established the foundation for me to feel active and present for the rest of the day. I appreciated Luisa checking in with us after each phase, and letting us reflect on what we experienced before moving on. I had a lot of fun with the automatic drawing phase, and was able to gain a lot of insights with the input of recalling a memory connected to the word feminism, some of them, I had never really realised and that made me very happy.”
“The whole day felt absolutely empowering. From the reflecting moments, to just letting our body and instincts showing us what’s inside and wants to come out, learning how to be present through listening, rediscovering the experience of the world around us through falling into our own memory and getting to understand ourselves in a deeper, more meaningful way; all of that brought me closer to who I am as a human, as a partially identifying woman, as a creature of earth and part of a community.”