Play Reading:
If you want to perform in the World Premiere:
Tysons, VA— “Is it arrogance to speak truth?” asks Arachne, a mortal woman with an extraordinary talent for weaving and the titular heroine of Judith Walsh White’s new children’s play. “What’s the price of false humility? Of bending to authority?” The young heroine is speaking to Athena, a forever vengeful goddess and the patron of weaving, who rages against Arachne’s ‘hubristic’ claim that the mortal’s weaving skill hails from her own hard work rather than the goddess’s blessing.
This quote cuts to the heart of Walsh White’s newest play, Arachne, which will premiere this summer at Traveling Players in Tysons Corner Center. While the show won’t begin rehearsals until June, audiences can get an early taste of what's to come on Saturday, May 10 at Traveling Players Studio when White will be joined by her husband to give a free dramatic reading of the script and post-reading talkback.
Commissioned by Traveling Players for their Mythology Ensemble – a two-week sleepaway acting camp for kids in grades 4-6 – the story follows the “Master of the Web” Arachne. Arachne has sacrificed for her skill with a loom, but not, as she points out, to the gods. Rather, she has sacrificed her own time, blood, sweat, and tears. When the goddess Athena comes to her door demanding that the girl bow to her and offer thankful sacrifice, Arachne is quick to deny her request, angering the goddess. What follows is a battle of talents and looms, but even when Arachne wins, Athena shows no humility and instead curses her and her lineage. This myth weaves the tale of the first ever arachnid and all her descendants, doomed to weave their webs for eternity.
The script puts White’s signature poetry on full display. The play pulls from both fairytale and oral storytelling traditions, with the ensemble sharing in the narration of the play. Several famous faces from Greek Mythology make an appearance, including the Fates - master weavers in their own right. Typical of White’s work for young audiences, the script includes the heart, humor, and complicated emotional characters who are worthy of young actors’ imaginations.
The show will also feature an original score from composer Nathan Sherwood Liang. Liang has previously composed music for several films and plays, including five other Traveling Players productions: Persephone, Atalanta, Heracles, Eros & Psyche, and Orpheus & Eurydice.
Arachne isn’t the only original work to grace Traveling Players’ stages this summer. Their high school students in their Comedy Ensemble will create an original play right in front of your eyes! Audiences will join in on the fun as the young actors craft a story through theatre games and audience suggestions.
In residence at Christchurch Boarding School in Saluda, VA, the Mythology Ensemble and Comedy Ensemble are just two of several residential summer programs that Traveling Players offers students in grades 3-12. When not in rehearsal, the students can boat and swim in the beautiful Rappahannock River, play classic camp games, and roast marshmallows under the stars.
Founded on the principles of inclusion, diversity, and equality, Traveling Players is proud to offer the most generous financial aid program for the arts in our region. In 2024, the company awarded over $57,000 in financial aid. More than 50% of students receive financial aid or discounts.
Young actors can audition for Arachne and Traveling Players' other summer productions this month. Financial Aid is still available for all programs, but is quickly running out. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Students currently in grades 2-5 can join Traveling Players’ day camp in their Tysons Studio and perform in a scene from one of White’s other plays on Greek Mythology.
White is an award-winning teacher, playwright, poet, actor, and director. Profiled in The Washingtonian in 1987 as one of DC’s ten best teachers, White taught drama and speech for over 20 years at the Holton-Arms School, where she trained Seinfeld and Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
A student of ancient myths, she has written 12 plays based on world mythology, including eleven commissioned by Traveling Players: Arachne, Orpheus & Eurydice, Eros & Psyche, Heracles, Atalanta, Persephone, Pandora’s Fire, Perseus and the Rock Star, Monkey King, Atum’s Eye, and Ariadne’s Thread: The Adventures of Theseus and the Minotaur. Two plays were subsequently published by Theatrefolk, listing Traveling Players’ student actors as The Original Cast, and have since received performances in Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Canada, the UK, and Gibraltar, as well as throughout the US, including The Actor’s Theatre of Louisville.
Recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of 25 model “Summer Schools for the Arts,” Traveling Players is dedicated to training students in grades 2-12 in theatre. Now celebrating their 21st summer, the theatre has grown from a summer camp of 18 students to a year-round theatrical community engaging 1000 students annually. Founded on faith in the imagination, wit, and honesty of teenagers, Traveling Players' programs focus on classical dramatic traditions: Moliere, Shakespeare, Commedia dell'Arte, and ancient mythology. Traveling Players’ Studio is in Tysons Corner Center, where they offer classes and performances year-round.
In 2021, Traveling Players received the ArtsFairfax Arts Education Award.
To find out more about Traveling Players Ensemble, visit http://travelingplayers.org.
Photo credit Jessica Wallach – Greater Depth Media
Traveling Players Studio
Tysons Corner Center – D1L
1961 Chain Bridge Road, Tysons, VA 22102
P.O. Box 1315
Great Falls, VA 22066
