About

Frederick Glaysher, Apollo's Troupe, Epic Poet, Rhapsode, Producer. 
I'm an epic poet, rhapsode, poet-critic, author or editor of ten books, including The Parliament of Poets: An Epic Poem (294 pages).

Seeking solo performance in theatres, amphitheatres, colleges and universities, or other venues, TOURING, USA, CA, UK, EU, for the theatre version of The Parliament of Poets. 100 minutes. 

SYNOPSIS

Apollo, the Greek god of poetry, calls all the poets of the nations, ancient and modern, East and West, to assemble on the moon to consult on the meaning of modern life, seeking our common humanity, coming together in peace and global community, with Don Quixote as Master of Ceremonies. 

The story is a very multicultural, pluralistic, multi-religious interfaith tale of people coming together from all of the spiritual traditions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, and indigenous wisdom traditions. The major characters are all representative voices for their civilizations and the best of their teachings for peace and human harmony, evoking the common unity of humanity.

Thirty years in the making, set partly at the Apollo 11 landing site, the Sea of Tranquility, Frederick Glaysher revives and combines the chanting and storytelling of the ancient Greek rhapsodes with the performing of Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe in small theatres. Glaysher performs solo The Poet of the Moon, Don Quixote, Merlin, Black Elk, Chief Seattle, Du Fu, Faerie Queene, Tolstoy, Dante, Job, Vyasa, Ta Chak, Rumi, Borges, Sogolon, and other poets from around the world.

One of the major themes is the power of women and the female spirit across cultures. 

The 100-minute solo production includes world music interludes, literary and cosmic projections.

GOALS 

I seek a theatre in the Bay Area, or a space in which I can create one, near as possible to Union Square, perhaps a storefront theatre on Powell Street, to accomplish the goals set out in my Theatre Industry Marketplace and am seeking Patron Donations and Gifts from supporters. In San Francisco in 2017 and 2018, I read at several poetry readings, including performing at Shelton Theater in the latter year. After more than another 30 performances, and performing Off-Broadway in February 2024 at the Actors Temple Theatre in NYC, I believe San Francisco may be  the city in which to develop my epic tale and revive the performing art of the ancient Greek rhapsodes for a contemporary audience. I'm currently working on presenting in San Francisco a reading / showcase of the production, perhaps in its entirety, for potential supporters and donors. Since I live in Michigan, I'd be grateful for any advice on how to successfully put that together. I'm attending the TBA General Auditions 2025 as an auditor, arriving February 4th and will begin scouting too for a theatre space. 

At some point I'm intending to hire two actors with experience performing Shakespeare for roles as accompanying rhapsodes for a two-hour production, and then ultimately bringing in many of the 30 other major characters for a three-hour production. Details below in Theatre Industry Marketplace. 

PRESS KIT 
https://earthrisepress.net/press_kit.html 
Theatre Industry Marketplace 
https://earthrisepress.net/press_kit/Theatre_Marketplace_and_Touring.pdf
Apollo's Troupe Webpage  
https://earthrisepress.net/apollos_troupe.html 
Press_Release_Apollos_Troupe
https://earthrisepress.net/press_kit/Press_Release_Apollos_Troupe.pdf 
NYC Playbill Program for Solo Performance
https://earthrisepress.net/images/Program_for_Solo_Performance.pdf
Patron Donations and Gifts - GPT4
https://earthrisepress.net/images/ApollosTroupe_Donation_Gift.txt 
Apollo's Troupe - Paypal Donation Page - EIN: 83-3830889 
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YHZQYM98A3JY8

By check, specify Donation or Gift on memo line, payable to Apollo's Troupe, LLC, 
5224 Aintree Road, Rochester, MI 48306 USA 

Over 70 epic poetry readings and performances at Off-Broadway Actors Temple Theatre (NYC), Theatre Passe Muraille at Toronto Fringe Festival, Theatre NOVA (Ann Arbor), Ringwald Theatre (Ferndale, MI), St Mark's Unitarian Church at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Hathaway’s Hideaway (Ann Arbor), Underground at Hilberry Theatre (WSU), Shelton Theater (San Francisco 2018), University of Michigan’s Rackham Amphitheatre, Wayne State University, Saginaw Valley State University, Detroit Public Library, Troy Public Library, Hannan Café, Austin International Poetry Festival (TX), Hudson Valley Writers Guild (Albany), Paint Creek Unitarian Universalist, Birmingham Unitarian, Grosse Pointe Unitarian, Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, Troy Interfaith, Theosophical Society of Detroit, Crazy Wisdom Bookstore, East Side Reading Series, MUSINGS, Borders, Barnes & Noble, BookWoman (TX), Espresso Royale, Sweetwaters, Himalayan (Berkeley, CA), Café Trieste (SF), Cafe International (SF), Sacred Grounds Café (SF), Tuesdays at North Beach Branch Library (SF), Washington Park (SF), Florey’s Books (Pacific, CA), The Farmhouse, West Park (A2), Rochester Municipal Park Band Shell, St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 8th Parliament of the World's Religions 2021, etc.

In addition to a theatre course in the Interpretative Reading of Poetry in 1977, I studied Shakespeare with an Oxford scholar and in another course with one from Harvard. I have been a theatre goer all my life from my early twenties, and at the Stratford Festival in Canada since 1998, usually seeing three to four plays or more a year, a few times five to six, a major influence on my own performance, as well as the Shaw Festival, the Old and Young Vic, Noh plays in Japan, and Chinese opera in Beijing, and so on. I’ve also had voice lessons with a member of the Detroit Opera chorus and private lessons with a theatre coach in the Michael Chekhov Technique, who was the director for my two-hour production at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Opening Hymn. Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto Fringe Festival. July 10, 2023. 2:16 minutes. https://youtu.be/m5Tv-nS9lRY

At Sea of Tranquility, Off-Broadway Actors Temple Theatre, NYC, March 2, 2024. 3:45 minutes. https://youtu.be/1QyXdrmhiVE

REVIEWS

"A memorable invocation began the show and, like a rocket, The Poet of the Moon is propelled into the Cosmos. With a long wooden staff, Glaysher appears like Prospero, a lasting call for peace and unity, a unique type of optimism." —Theater Pizzazz, NYC Review, Feb. 20, 2024, Off-Broadway Jewish Actors Temple Theatre

https://theaterpizzazz.com/the-parliament-of-poets-at-the-actors-temple/

"A unique and moving experience.” —Michigan Michael Chekhov

“Certainly wowed the crowd with the performance and the words themselves.” —Hudson Valley Writers Guild

“A hopeful vision of peaceful coexistence as one united humanity. The performance was thought-provoking, moving, and inspiring. Our world is desperately in need of this message of peace, love and humanity.” —Rev Eric Williams, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Rochester, Michigan 

“Impressed, moved to laughter, tears. Held our attention for 90 minutes, stayed so energized, a feat in itself. A creative, powerful message with so many of the poet masters, phenomenal! Amazing life-time work!” —Rev. Leonetta Bugleisi, Unitarian Universalist, Michigan

"Like a story around a campfire." —From The Audience

“A great epic poem of startling originality and universal significance, in every way partaking of the nature of world literature.” —Hans G. Ruprecht, CKCU Literary News, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

“Mr. Glaysher has written an epic poem of major importance. Truly a major accomplishment and contribution to American Letters.” —ML Liebler, Department of English, Wayne State University, Detroit

"Very readable and intriguingly enjoyable. Frederick Glaysher’s hours of dedication have produced a masterpiece that will stand the test of time." —Poetry Cornwall, No. 36, England, UK

Seeking solo performance in theatres, amphitheatres, colleges and universities, churches, other venues, USA, CA, UK, EU, for the theatre version of The Parliament of Poets. 100 minutes.