CLC Theatre to stage Greek Tragedy ‘Orestes’
“Orestes,” a tragedy written by the celebrated classic Greek playwright Euripides, will be presented over two weekends, March 11-13 and 17-19, by the College of Lake County Theatre Department.
Using a translation by Anne Carson, the play is being directed by Rebekah Scallet, a CLC adjunct faculty member who directed “Anne Frank and Me” at CLC in 2009.
The show will be presented in the Studio Theatre of the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the following dates and times: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12; 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13; and 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 17-19. In addition, a special matinee for high school groups grades nine and above will be offered 10 a.m. Friday, March 18.
“Orestes” (written in 408 B.C.) is the third chapter in a trilogy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides about Elektra and Orestes, siblings who are the offspring of a child-sacrificing father and a husband-murdering mother. Guided by the god Apollo and their own sense of righteousness, Elektra and Orestes kill their mother to avenge their father’s death. But as the play shows, no “good deed” goes unpunished.
As Elektra and Orestes face stoning for their crimes, audiences are confronted with the question: Does an eye always deserve an eye? This strikingly modern translation by the noted Canadian poet and translator Anne Carson shows a family caught in an unending cycle of violence and retaliation that leads to an examination of the very nature of justice.
“What is unique about this translation is there is a lot of humor in the writing -– it’s not all doom and gloom,” said director Rebekah Scallet. “Anne Carson does a literal translation, but as a poet she has put her own contemporary and often humorous spin on it. Greek playwrights such as Euripides have a lot to say about life now. Euripides’ characters debate issues of justice and righteousness that are very relevant to what is happening in our world today.”
Scallet is setting the play in modern times and combining elements of today’s Middle Eastern conflicts with the traditional components of Greek drama (such as the use of a chorus of onlookers who comment on the action of the play).
The cast features the following CLC students and community members: Ashley Rodriguez (Grayslake) as Elektra, Kim Kuzma (Wauconda) as Helen, Sam Hernandez (Mundelein) as Orestes, Andy Montano (Mundelein) as Menelaos, Romeo Sobrepena (Lindenhurst) as Tyndareus, Adam Bakunas (Mundelein) as Pylades, Timothy Workman (North Chicago) as Messenger, Samantha Charles (Antioch) as Hermione, Rodrigo Arreola (Lake Bluff) as Trojan Slave, Chawkeen Graham (Lake Villa) as Apollo, and Bev Adamczyk (Lake Bluff), Jaime Churchill (Round Lake Beach), Dominique Jackson (Round Lake Beach), Andrea Martinez (Long Grove) and Ela Winnett (Waukegan) as the chorus of Argos women.
Tickets are $10 each for general admission and $8 for CLC students/staff, seniors 65 and over and JLC season subscribers (prices include a $1 JLC facility fee). Tickets are available at the CLC box office in the James Lumber Center on the Grayslake campus, 19351 W. Washington St., by phone at (847) 543-2300 or online at clcillinois.edu/tickets. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more in advance. For information, call (847) 543-2431 or e-mail JLCgroupsales@clcillinois.edu. To request sign language interpreting, call the box office at (847) 543-2300 at least two weeks in advance.
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