The Elviad (working title)

Created by The West

We turn historical figures into idols of the American Civic Religion. Chief Blackfish lays siege to Daniel Boone’s illegal settlement of Boonesborough. Elvis Presley’s image and voice are beamed from Hawaii into houses all over the world. A soldier in Vietnam receives word that Martin Luther King Jr. has been shot. The goddess Athena moves into the replica of the Parthenon in Nashville. History passes into mythology before we’ve even realized it’s happened. 

The US is an empire in decline. Scholars like Rebecca Gordon, writing for The Nation, have described this decline clearly, almost presciently. Since January 6 this decline has become even clearer. As artists, we must step up now. What do the idols and myths we’ve adopted tell us about how we got to this point? Is there some secret hidden in these stories that may reveal the origin of both the rise and the fall? Can performing our foundational mythology, like the Athenians did, tell us how to move forward? What can the rise and fall of the King tell us about the rise and fall of the Empire?

The Elviad will be a tetralogy with music, lipsyncing, dance, video, and interactive elements, which seeks to capture the festival and democracy-strengthening atmosphere of ancient Athenian theater. It will explore four moments that loom large in American imperial history: the first excursions across the Appalachians, the export of the first rock star, the first cracks in the post-war imperial armor in Vietnam, and the creation of an exact replica of the Parthenon in “The Athens of the South.” These four stories will be told one after the other, but intertwine and reflect each other to explore urgent questions about our history, mythology, rise, and fall. How have our beliefs shaped the empire? What imperialist history do our myths highlight, or bury? What role did artists play in building the empire, through the export of pop-culture? What is the value of “authenticity” and “impersonation” from our artists and politicians? What will be left when the empire falls?