Monday, February 9, 2009
University Theatre is taking a new look at an old Greek myth.
Beginning with the opening night performance this evening, University Theatre will be performing Sarah Ruhl’s contemporary version of the Greek myth “Eurydice” every evening this week until Sunday.
The play is directed by Chandra O. Hopkins, Cornelia, Georgia, doctoral student, and features a cast of all KU students.
Mackenzie Wiglesworth, Olathe senior, portrays the heroine, Eurydice, and Spencer Holdren, Topeka senior, plays the villan, the Lord of the Underworld.
Amy Virginia Buchanan, Stillwater, Okla. senior, prepares her makeup for the dress rehearsal of "Eurydice", KU theater's production that will run from Feb. 9-16 in Inge Theatre. The play is under the direction of phD. student Chandra O. Hopkins.
theatre
“Eurydice”
What: University Theatre presents a contemporary look at the Greek myth “Eurydice”
Who: The play is directed by Chandra O. Hopkins, Cornelia, Georgia, doctoral student, and features a cast of all KU students.
When: Feb. 9 to Feb. 15
Where: Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall
How much: $10 for students, $11 for KU faculty and staff, $12 for adults
The University Daily Kansan spoke with Hopkins, Wiglesworth and Holdren about the play, their characters and what’s next after this production.
Describe the story line of this play.
Wiglesworth: It’s a classic Greek myth usually called “Orpheus and Eurydice.” It’s about two lovers and then they get married. Eurydice dies and Orpheus is so upset he goes and finds her in the underworld to get her back.
How is this contemporary play similar or different from the Greek play?
Hopkins: Ruhl creates the character of Eurydice’s father and she creates a really beautiful decision that Eurydice has to make: Whether to stay in the Underworld or to go back to the land of the living to stay with her lover, Orpheus. In the original myth that doesn’t happen. All the characters in this version speak in very contemporary language. It is still very poetic, but it’s in very accessible contemporary language.
Wiglesworth: This play is told from Eurydice’s point of view. People have only seen it from Orpheus and not from Eurydice’s point of view. You get to see more what her dream is and what it’s like for her. It’s completely modern and it has elements of the Greek tragedy, but it’s not written in verse. It’s kind of set in universal time.
Why should KU students come?
Hopkins: It’s very funny and poignant and I think it reminds us what it means to be alive and what it means to live. The set’s incredible. We have water on the stage. I think they will all really enjoy it. The costumes and set visually are a treat to look at. It’s just kind of a visual feast.
Wiglesworth: It’s a classic story but also it’s a story that still applies to everybody today. It’s good theater and if you haven’t really seen theater before, I think that this is a show that everyone walks away from with some ideas.
What part do you play? Describe your character.
Wiglesworth: Eurydice is a young woman who is very much in love with her soon-to-be fiancé, Orpheus. They are one of those couples where not exactly everything is the same, but they complement each other very well. She’s into books and learning things and words are fascinating to her. Her lover is all about music, and that just doesn’t really make sense to her.
Holdren: In the first part, I play the “nasty interesting man.” For the rest of the play, I play Lord of the Underworld, the antagonist. I think there is something in both of them that people identify with even if they don’t want to. They represent the darker side of human nature, kind of that drive and lust and want for power. For a good portion of the play, the Lord of the Underworld is actually a little boy. He rides around on a tricycle. It’s very interesting to portray that kind of character as a child. It’s creepy and interesting at the same time.
What is the hardest part of playing your character?
Wiglesworth: Eurydice is basically like three different characters. You see her alive with her lover and you see her after she dies and she’s lost some of her memories. She’s more of a blank slate and she starts gaining some memories and then she loses some again. It’s interesting to try and figure out the three different Eurydices.
Holdren: The playwright is very economic in the way that she writes and there is very little subtextual stuff to work with. Just being bold enough and going with something and seeing if it really works with the action of the play.
What other productions have you been involved with?
Hopkins: I’m primarily first an actor. I was an actor in my undergraduate career. I wrote and directed my master’s thesis. This past summer I worked as an assistant director at Georgia Shakespeare Theater in Atlanta.
Wiglesworth: I have done other shows with University Theatre. I was in “A Flea in Her Ear” in October and “Jonathan Livingston Seagull.” Over the summer I went to Greece to study abroad and I did “Agamemnon.”
Holdren: This is my 7th production with KU. Most recently I was in “A Flea in Her Ear.”
Last season I was in “Twelfth Night” and “The Music Man.” I was in “Pageant,” “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” and “Lily Plants a Garden.”
What’s next after this play?
Hopkins: I’ve got to really buckle down and do more coursework. I’m in coursework now, but my next focus is that I have to take the foreign languages. And I don’t know the next play I’ll work on. It may be a while before I get through this next year of study.
Wiglesworth: After I graduate, I’m going to stay in Kansas City for a year and live at home and save up money. And after that, I’m going to Chicago to audition and try to act. I like acting and directing. I’m going out there to see what I can do.
Holdren: I’ll be graduating in May. However cliché it sounds, I think I’m going to try and move to New York. I have friends there. I’m going to give it a try and see what professional life offers me and what I offer it.
— — Edited by Realle Roth
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