Damascus, PA-- Farm Arts Collective is developing a new performance entitled Scattered Seeds of Troy. Directed by Farm Arts Collective artistic director, Tannis Kowalchuk the performance takes an ecological spin on the classical Greek tragedy The Trojan Women written by Euripides in 416 BC.

The company will present work-in-progress performances at Farm Arts Collective, 38 Hickory Lane, Damascus, PA 18415 on Friday, November 13 at 7 PM, Saturday, November 14 at 7 PM, and Sunday, Nov 15 at 3 PM. A moderated and brief discussion will take place after each performance.

Scattered Seeds of Troy reimagines Andromache (Ginny Hack), Cassandra (Costanza Bugiani), Helen (Hilary Dennis) and Hecuba (Tannis Kowalchuk) through a contemporary ecological lens. The premise of this contemporary version of the classic ancient tragedy asks:

What seeds does each character take with them when they are forced off their land? How do you find hope in a hopeless situation?

At the opening of the performance, four women enter dragging suitcases. They pull from one of the suitcases, a red cloth that covers the ground– symbolizing the blood- soaked land upon which the performance takes place. We meet the four primary characters from The Trojan Women, all stripped of their autonomy, social position, family, and home. To enter the familiar performance, we have adapted text from several translations and adaptations (Anne Carson, Sartre, Edith Hamilton). 

As the play progresses, the actresses slowly depart from the classic text and structure, as they begin to share dreams, wine, and memories. The women are visited by a goddess figure, inspired by Indian eco-feminist seed activist, Vandana Shiva (India) who says, “If you want to create a new world, then you must do it seed by seed, person by person, until the world is embraced in a circle of resurgent life, and resurgent love.” 

Scattered Seeds of Troy explores how the very idea to carry seeds in a hostile, authoritarian, patriarchal, and militarized world provides healing and empowerment.  For thousands of years humans have grown plants, cooked, made art, and war. When people migrate, cultures, plants, language, food, and ideas spread with them.  Seeds provide a biological and spiritual connection to their lost homeland. 

The performance is created collaboratively with four actresses of Farm Arts Collective. Director, Tannis Kowalchuk employs a devised theatre process derived from the methods of Eugenio Barba and Jerzy Grotowski and has created a new innovative interpretation that is ecological, feminist, and anti-war. The play blends movement, sung music, sound score, and visual spectacle into a powerful meditation on displacement and hope.

“Scattered Seeds of Troy” explores loss of rights, power, war, migration, survival, and the search for agency in a broken world. Seeds become both literal and symbolic: food, memory, inheritance, and resistance. 

Original music and sound design by Char McCutcheon, costumes by Kar Flood, lighting design and operation Calvin Anderson, production assistant, Debra Thomas, additional technical support Grese Productions, classical and text consultant Thomas Bartscherer.

Following the production at Farm Arts Collective, Scattered Seeds of Troy will play in New York City in January 15 and 16, 2027 at Bernie Wohl Theatre at Goddard Riverside Community Arts as part of APAP showcase weekend.