2008 Woodie Awards
The Bacchae: Complex, But Worth It
Elizabeth Fields
Issue date: 4/7/04 Section: Arts and Entertainment
In the year 2030, Cadmus (Gunther Gullickson), former king of Thebes, and his friend Tiresias (Darl A. Packard) return to Thebes to wash the bones of Cadmus' grandson Pentheus (Matt Crepeau) before the abandoned palace. While at the pond, Cadmus has a flashback of the time when the god Dionysus (Raymond Gaston) put the women of Thebes, including three of his daughters, Agave (Emily Ansel), Ino (Alicia Defrancesco), and Autonoe (Jocelyn Heath), in a powerful trancelike frenzy. The story that follows is Michael Cacoyannis' translation of Euripides' last Greek tragedy The Bacchae, directed by Theatre Department chair Rebecca Free.
In ancient times, Zeus fathered Dionysus with Semele, the now-dead sister of Agave, Ino, and Autonoe, who refused to believe that Zeus was the father and thus refused to believe that Dionysus was a god. Now, Dionysus (also known as Bromius, Bacchus, or Evion) has returned to Thebes disguised as a mortal to seek vengeance.
Dionysus sends the women of Thebes (Diana Strachan, Sage Clemenco, Holland Berson and Rachael Collins) to the mountain Cithaeron, where they engage in "orgiastic filth." With the Chorus (Lauren Herbert, Emily Copplestone, Jane Rosenbaum, Caitlin Corrigan, Laura Sicari, Kiele Stewart-Funai and Lauren Latouche), a group of women followers, he enters the city, where Cadmus has given all power to his Pentheus, the son of Agave. The Herdsman (Michael DeFillippi) comes down from the hills and tells Pentheus all about the frightening behavior of the Theban women. Despite his grandfather and Tiresias urging him not to, Pentheus orders his guards (Paul Jordan, Evan McDougall and Patrick Videau) to chain this "Bacchus fiend" in his stables. Dionysus unleashes an earthquake on the palace.
The angry Pentheus decides to march against the women in the hills, but Dionysus shrewdly suggests that he might like to spy on their orgies and gain information first. Pentheus agrees, balking only when Dionysus instructs him to dress like a woman so he will be able to spy unnoticed. Pentheus and his Messenger (Matt Waldron) disappear to the hills, and it is the Messenger who brings word that Pentheus is dead.
Agave and the Theban women, now covered in blood, return to the city. Agave is carrying the head of Pentheus, which she thinks is a lion that she has caught, killed, and ripped apart. The grieving Cadmus forces her to look on the head and realize what she has done. Dionysus appears in god form and announces that this is their punishment for denying his godhood. He banishes Cadmus, Agave, Ino, and Autonoe. The city of Thebes has learned the price of denying a god. Cadmus takes the broken body of his grandson, which he carries with him, constantly washing and blessing it in various locations - which brings us back to the Prologue.
The process and production of The Bacchae were almost as complicated as the storyline. The Bacchae was this year's Senior Project production, which means that the thirteen theater majors and minors were required to take a six-credit, year-long class to produce this play. They spent the first semester reading different translations of The Bacchae, discussing its thematic elements, and laying the foundation for a production concept. The Prologue scene, which was not written by Euripides, was developed at this time. Auditions were held at the end of the fall semester, and then the spring was spent staging and preparing the show. All members of Senior Project are required to take on an acting and a production role.
The set, designed by Tom Cole and Evan McDougall '04, was expansive and detailed, using almost all sides of the black box theater (and sometimes compromising the size of the house). While the main action takes place before the audience, a platform representing Cithaeron ran along the left side of the theater, and Dionysus speaks from a two-story-high platform in the middle of the audience, facing the stage. Real running water to represent an aqueduct and a huge amount of dirt made the set not only much messier, but also more realistic - particularly because there was nothing keeping the first row of the audience from getting sprayed occasionally.
Standout performances included Emily Ansel '04 as Agave, Darl A. Packard '04 as Tiresias, and Gunther Gullickson '04 as Cadmus. Despite the fact that Ansel really only appeared onstage for the last fifteen minutes of the show (Agave is seen lurking in the Prologue when Cadmus returns to the city), she lent an appropriately frantic manner to her character, who is first exulting at the "lion" and is then horrified at what she has done. Packard and Gullickson provided a suitable amount of humor in their discussions, but Gullickson's grief at the death of Pentheus and the news that he is banished from the city he founded stood in powerful contrast. Packard's portrayal of an old blind man was also accurate without looking ridiculous. Caitlin Corrigan '04, a member of the chorus, was essentially the resident drummer, and the song she played out on a drum made of a water jug was one of the best sound elements of the show.
The Bacchae is hardly an uplifting show, and perhaps the best testament to Free's direction and the Senior Project class' dedication is their ability to evoke humor and beauty despite the take-home message and the grief that blankets the end of the play (not to mention a whole lot of blood). Senior Projects are usually an emotional experience for all members of the class and cast, and the quote that appeared on the front cover the program speaks to this: "In the end, we don't come through life as we come through each experience along the way - enriched or changed, wounded or restored; in the end we are all each one of us no matter who we are completely consumed by life."
In ancient times, Zeus fathered Dionysus with Semele, the now-dead sister of Agave, Ino, and Autonoe, who refused to believe that Zeus was the father and thus refused to believe that Dionysus was a god. Now, Dionysus (also known as Bromius, Bacchus, or Evion) has returned to Thebes disguised as a mortal to seek vengeance.
Dionysus sends the women of Thebes (Diana Strachan, Sage Clemenco, Holland Berson and Rachael Collins) to the mountain Cithaeron, where they engage in "orgiastic filth." With the Chorus (Lauren Herbert, Emily Copplestone, Jane Rosenbaum, Caitlin Corrigan, Laura Sicari, Kiele Stewart-Funai and Lauren Latouche), a group of women followers, he enters the city, where Cadmus has given all power to his Pentheus, the son of Agave. The Herdsman (Michael DeFillippi) comes down from the hills and tells Pentheus all about the frightening behavior of the Theban women. Despite his grandfather and Tiresias urging him not to, Pentheus orders his guards (Paul Jordan, Evan McDougall and Patrick Videau) to chain this "Bacchus fiend" in his stables. Dionysus unleashes an earthquake on the palace.
The angry Pentheus decides to march against the women in the hills, but Dionysus shrewdly suggests that he might like to spy on their orgies and gain information first. Pentheus agrees, balking only when Dionysus instructs him to dress like a woman so he will be able to spy unnoticed. Pentheus and his Messenger (Matt Waldron) disappear to the hills, and it is the Messenger who brings word that Pentheus is dead.
Agave and the Theban women, now covered in blood, return to the city. Agave is carrying the head of Pentheus, which she thinks is a lion that she has caught, killed, and ripped apart. The grieving Cadmus forces her to look on the head and realize what she has done. Dionysus appears in god form and announces that this is their punishment for denying his godhood. He banishes Cadmus, Agave, Ino, and Autonoe. The city of Thebes has learned the price of denying a god. Cadmus takes the broken body of his grandson, which he carries with him, constantly washing and blessing it in various locations - which brings us back to the Prologue.
The process and production of The Bacchae were almost as complicated as the storyline. The Bacchae was this year's Senior Project production, which means that the thirteen theater majors and minors were required to take a six-credit, year-long class to produce this play. They spent the first semester reading different translations of The Bacchae, discussing its thematic elements, and laying the foundation for a production concept. The Prologue scene, which was not written by Euripides, was developed at this time. Auditions were held at the end of the fall semester, and then the spring was spent staging and preparing the show. All members of Senior Project are required to take on an acting and a production role.
The set, designed by Tom Cole and Evan McDougall '04, was expansive and detailed, using almost all sides of the black box theater (and sometimes compromising the size of the house). While the main action takes place before the audience, a platform representing Cithaeron ran along the left side of the theater, and Dionysus speaks from a two-story-high platform in the middle of the audience, facing the stage. Real running water to represent an aqueduct and a huge amount of dirt made the set not only much messier, but also more realistic - particularly because there was nothing keeping the first row of the audience from getting sprayed occasionally.
Standout performances included Emily Ansel '04 as Agave, Darl A. Packard '04 as Tiresias, and Gunther Gullickson '04 as Cadmus. Despite the fact that Ansel really only appeared onstage for the last fifteen minutes of the show (Agave is seen lurking in the Prologue when Cadmus returns to the city), she lent an appropriately frantic manner to her character, who is first exulting at the "lion" and is then horrified at what she has done. Packard and Gullickson provided a suitable amount of humor in their discussions, but Gullickson's grief at the death of Pentheus and the news that he is banished from the city he founded stood in powerful contrast. Packard's portrayal of an old blind man was also accurate without looking ridiculous. Caitlin Corrigan '04, a member of the chorus, was essentially the resident drummer, and the song she played out on a drum made of a water jug was one of the best sound elements of the show.
The Bacchae is hardly an uplifting show, and perhaps the best testament to Free's direction and the Senior Project class' dedication is their ability to evoke humor and beauty despite the take-home message and the grief that blankets the end of the play (not to mention a whole lot of blood). Senior Projects are usually an emotional experience for all members of the class and cast, and the quote that appeared on the front cover the program speaks to this: "In the end, we don't come through life as we come through each experience along the way - enriched or changed, wounded or restored; in the end we are all each one of us no matter who we are completely consumed by life."