written and danced by Matt Jenson
photos by V Paul V

Sketch Mythology is a series of dance/theatre performances.

Each performance includes several character sketches: short dances portraying different gods, mortals, and monsters from Greek Mythology. After each character sketch, the performer holds a pose while the audience gets a chance to draw (sketch).

Two productions of Sketch Mythology premiered in 2017 and 2019 at Dreamland Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota.

What follows is the text that is woven into some of the performances.

Eros Loses the Election

I used to be the god of desire

Used to be

For centuries I served at the foot of my mother, Aphrodite

Learned from her the nuances

The intricacies

The chemistry of love

You mortals didn’t always like being struck by my arrow

You questioned some of my pairings

You began to demand more accountability and transparency

Because all you saw was messiness and chaos

Aren’t gods supposed to work in mysterious ways?

You had no faith in my competence

My expertise

You couldn’t believe a grown man

Would be able to resist

Abusing such power

So you stripped me

You stripped me of my bow and arrow

And thrust them into the grubby hands

Of a chubby baby

With no talent, no skill

No knowledge of desires

Except his own

To eat and sleep and crap in his diaper

He flits about and blindly shoots his arrows

With no thought, no intention

THAT’S who you chose to replace me

And yet, now when you are struck

And you fuck your best friend’s wife

You still have the gall to throw up your hands

As if to say “none of this was my fault”

And conveniently absolve yourself of all responsibility

One Final Frolic

It sounded too good to be true,

the life of a nymph:

Bind your life to the life of a tree,

and you get to dance every night

to the music of satyrs!

Take care of your tree,

and it will take care of you.

Food.

Shelter.

Clothing.

Everything you need to survive.

It sounded too good to be true,

but we wanted to dance.

We all wanted to dance.

So we signed up

for the life

of a nymph.

For a while, it was wonderful.

A midsummer night’s dream.

Every night

we’d frolic in the woods,

drink lots of wine,

and dance, dance, dance!

It’s true, there was food.

It’s true we didn’t starve,

but in the winter

a single berry

once a week

barely keeps you alive.

It’s true we had shelter,

but branches

can only keep you so warm

on a chilled autumn night.

We had clothes,

but you can only mend

the same patch

so many times

before things fall apart.

One by one,

the nymphs began leaving,

chopped down their trees,

and moved to town.

Got a real job.

Nothing so frivolous as dancing all night.

Found a real home

with a roof

and heat

and a family with a husband and children to love.

And became a part of the real world.

And the forest became smaller

as the nymphs kept leaving.

So now, here we are.

The last nymph

The last tree

In a field full of stumps where a forest used to be.

Be happy for me

because tomorrow

I’m going off to find a home, too

And a family.

And a way to be a part of the real world.

Be happy for me.

It’s been lovely,

but I need more.

So, here we are.

The last nymph

The last tree

In a field full of stumps where a forest used to be.

One last night of dancing.

One last little spree.

There’s time for

One

Final

Frolic.

The Minotaur

It didn’t happen all at once.

It started long ago when the Prince was very young.

A ferocious toddler, an unnatural child with unnatural cravings

And sharp teeth on display.

But a few little bricks – placed just so –

Could hold the monster at bay.

Time passes.

Tick tock tick –  more little bricks

The barricade grows after each grisly game.

The nanny flees, nine fingers left

The monster takes the blame.

Tick tock tick – Brick upon brick

Always stacked just high enough

To match his growing rage.

Years go by and walls rise up.

The wild prince comes of age.

Tick tock tick – Great walls of brick

Concealing in the shadows

His unholy appetite.

Passages and corridors

Restrain the parasite.

Construction surges!

A labyrinth emerges!

The Prince is all alone,

Ruling his convoluted kingdom

Of dank air and crumbling stone.

And yet…

The labyrinth was his mind’s invention

Protecting Crete from the monster

He believed himself to be.

He twists and writhes

In a vast and empty room,

Trapped inside an unsolvable maze

That only he can see.

Special thanks to my collaborating choreographer, Nicole Hettwer, for her contributions to the development of the text for The Minotaur.

Narcissus

I like to hunt.

I REALLY like to hunt…by myself.

I go to town, and they all run toward me with desire.

I don’t understand.

I don’t find anyone attractive.

I wish I could.

I am honest with them.

I try to let them down gently.

I always end up breaking their hearts.

I am called a self-absorbed and selfish monster.

I take refuge in the forest.

I hunt, and they all run from me in fear.

I clear the space around me.

I stop by the lake to take a drink.

I see you in the water staring back at me.

I find you delightful.

I feel so at ease in your company.

I appreciate that you don’t ask for what I cannot give.

I will never leave your side.

I finally understand.

I found who I am meant to be with:

Special Thanks

Sketch Mythology performances were made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. 

About the author

name: Matt Jenson

Matt Jenson (they/them) has been a writer, choreographer, dancer, and teaching artist for over twenty years. They are currently writing and illustrating a series of children’s early chapter books. Matt enjoys deep discussions about comic books with their son, Blackstar, and lives in St. Paul with their husband, Paul. Website: mattjensonarts.com