The Myth of Demeter and Persephone Revisited

When Persephone is the featured guest on the TV show Mythcrackers, she exposes the “real” story, turning the age-old myth into a tale of family dysfunction, unlikely romance, and how one grows up a modern girl in ancient Greece.

Playwright Bio:

Novelist, poet, playwright, performer, and screenwriter, John Biscello, is the author of four novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, and No Man’s Brooklyn; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables paired with the vintage illustrations by artist Paul Bransom for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His produced, full-length plays include: LOBSTERS ON ICE, ADAGIO FOR STRAYS, THE BEST MEDICINE, ZEITGEIST, U.S.A., and WEREWOLVES DON’T WALTZ. He is the founder and director of the Taos Youth Ensemble, a theater collective, and as an independent drama educator, he has worked in various schools, creating plays with grades ranging from K through high school.

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS:

Mythcrackers Host #1
Mythcrackers Host #2
Demeter
Persephone
Hades
Zeus
Hermes
Dead Souls #1 and #2
Apollo
Athena
Ares
Poseidon
Aphrodite

SETTING: TV Studio/Olympus/the Underworld

HOST #1:
Welcome to Mythcrackers.

HOST #2:
Where we explore the story behind the story regarding ancient myths.

HOST #1:
In tonight’s special winter edition, we revisit the myth of Demeter and Persephone.

HOST #2:
Ladies and gentlemen, everyone’s favorite fair maiden, Persephone.

(HOSTS greet PERSEPHONE who joins them onstage.)

HOST #1:
Thanks for making the trip to be here.

HOST #2:
Was it hard to convince your husband, Hades, to let you be on the show?

PERSEPHONE:
You see that’s what I’m talking about. People think I’m some kind of prisoner, and that my husband’s a cruel and unusual monster. It’s not like that at all.

HOST #1:
Well then … what’s the story behind the story?

PERSEPHONE:
Okay.
(PERSEPHONE rises, about to dramatize the action.)
One day I was picking flowers in the meadow when my mother, Demeter, stormed out.

(DEMETER storms onstage.)

DEMETER:
Persephone!

PERSEPHONE:
Yes, mother.

DEMETER:
What’s this I hear about you and Hades?

PERSEPHONE:
I don’t know what you’re talking about.

DEMETER:
I’m talking about Cupid’s arrow that makes everyone a little gooey inside.

PERSEPHONE:
Me? Gooey for that deadhead? No way!

DEMETER:
That’s the rumor going around.

PERSEPHONE: (addressing HOSTS)
One of the worst things about living among gods and goddesses … the gossip. They get bored easily, and if they’re not turning a poor mortal into swine or fowl, they’re spreading rumors.
(to DEMETER)
Mother, it’s not true.

DEMETER:
I don’t believe you.

PERSEPHONE:
Mother—

DEMETER:
You’re grounded.

PERSEPHONE:
Grounded? I never go anywhere except the meadow.

DEMETER:
Well from now on, no more frolics through the meadow unless you have a chaperone.

PERSEPHONE:
I’m not a child anymore!

DEMETER:
Maybe you’re not, but I’m still your mother and my word will be obeyed.

PERSEPHONE:
No, it won’t—
(addressing HOSTS)
I screamed at her, then ran off into the woods, my mother shouting:

DEMETER:
Wait till your father hears about this!