Persephone 5: Lean Into the Darkness!

Persephone is terrified when an enormous being appears from the depths of the rushing river.  But could the River Styx have just the wit and wisdom Persephone needs to hear?   Combining the artistry of foremost contemporary theater-makers with the timeless stories of Greek myth and the imaginative power of audio, Live from Mount Olympus is an adventure for tweens and families of all ages. This podcast is a production of the Onassis Foundation. The bold and original audio drama is created and produced by Peabody Award-winning showrunner Julie Burstein, co-produced by the Brooklyn-based theater ensemble The TEAM, and directed by Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet) and Keenan Tyler Oliphant (Associate Director of Hadestown and director of PlayCo’s upcoming U.S. premiere of Ebru Nihan Celkan’s Will You Come with Me?). Karen Brooks Hopkins is the executive producer. Live from Mount Olympus is presented by TRAX from PRX. Find out more at Onassis.link/Olympus Our actors include: Kayla Bennett, Eric Berryman, Vinie Burrows, Jaaliyah Casey, Divine Garland, Mari Harris, Joanne Hernandez, Modesto “Flako” Jimenez, Anna Kendrick, Libby King, Ian Lassiter, Zhailon Levingston, Christina Liberus, Kimberly Marable, Nehemia Luckett, Jake Margolin, James Harrison Monaco, Isabella Rossellini, Kristen Sieh, Nidra Sous la Terre, Eierene Tuakora, and Ching Valdes-Aran. And André De Shields is Hermes. Special thanks to Calvin Samuel Blanch, Elliot Byler, Sam Chavrichs, Adrienne Hopkins, Caroline Hopkins, and Natalie Hopkins. The TEAM’s Producing Director is Alexandra Lalonde, and Producing Manager is Laura Elliot.  We had casting support from Melissa Friedman of Epic Theater Ensemble. Our writer is Nathan Yungerberg.  Tessa Zitter is assistant producer and Yonatan Rekem is assistant editor.  Audio production and mix by John Melillo. Live from Mount Olympus music was composed by Magdalini Giannikou, with help from Luca Bordonaro, and performed by Banda Magda. Jason Adam Katzenstein created our illustrations and is our series humor consultant. Michael Kendrick is Program Director for Onassis USA.  Marketing and social media management by Karina Grudnikov and Caroline English.  Press by Blake Zidell.  Graphic design by Onassis Creative Studio. Since 1975, the Onassis Foundation has been dedicated to culture, community, and education, with projects that can effectively inspire social change and justice across borders. Learn more at www.onassis.org.