Mitzi Badlis is a passionate scholar and an aspiring teacher. She co-coordinates the VicReach program at Victoria College, is a part-time figure skating coach, and is the youngest member on the Board of Directors for Common Boots Theatre. In her research so far, she has been particularly interested in storytelling and exploring the ways in which different mediums can be read as texts. Her fellowship research project is titled To the World We Dream About: An Analysis of Community and Hope in Hadestown. Mitzi is one of our 2024-25 Undergraduate Fellows.
What are your main research interests and what excites you most about them?
I’m interested in taking critical, narratological approaches to literary texts, films, dramatic works, and video games. I have such an adoration for studying narratives, regardless of the forms they take, because stories have such a great capacity for teaching and learning across lines of difference.
What project are you working on at the JHI and why did you choose it?
I’m analyzing Hadestown, a musical adaptation of the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, two lovers who descend to the underworld and are ultimately unable to escape together. In the musical, the world aboveground is ravaged by climate change and poverty and the world below is an industrial hellscape characterized by Hades’ workers, who toil endlessly to build his wall. Hermes narrates as Orpheus uses his music to remind Hades and Persephone of their love and to inspire the workers to revolt and follow him out of the underworld. I chose to study Hadestown because I was fascinated by the ways in which its cyclical narrative encourages retelling a story about love and revolution to transform inevitable tragedy and infuse it with a sense of hope and alternative possibilities.
How has your JHI Fellowship experience been so far?
In essence, being an undergraduate fellow at JHI has been an enriching experience unlike any other. Our weekly lunches have given me the opportunity to learn about and engage with a vast array of ideas beyond my own studies. The Circle of Fellows has been an immensely supportive, encouraging, and affirming community and I feel so fortunate to have been a part of it.
Why do you believe the humanities are important?
Studying the humanities gives us access to stories that teach us about ourselves, our relationships to others, and our places within the world. Through storytelling, we gain an appreciation for and an understanding of our unique perspectives and our nuanced experiences. The humanities enable us to move across boundaries of difference and encounter moments of connection across time and space, language and culture.
Can you share something you read/watched/listened to recently that you enjoyed/were inspired by?
Given that my project is on a widely accessible, entirely sung-through musical, I can’t miss this opportunity to recommend the cast recording of Hadestown. It highlights the value of the arts in consciousness-raising and its message of building community and fostering hope are desperately needed in today’s political climate.
In addition, on my commutes I’ve been slowly making my way through the immensely popular short fiction podcast LeVar Burton Reads. Of the many short stories you can listen to there, my favourite so far is “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu, which depicts a heartfelt and resonant example of a first-generation immigrant experience.
What is a fun fact about you?
I’ve been figure skating since I was six years old. I mainly coach now but in recent years, my coworkers have encouraged me to continue training and developing my skills. About a month ago, I passed my Gold Skills Test (the highest test I can take in that category) and I’m pretty proud of that accomplishment.