Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 16, 1998, edition 1 / Page 10
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10 April 16,1998 ^rts Se (2E; ntertaimnent The Bacchae* spotlights this weekend Katisha Hayes Pendulum Reporter Violence, exotic women and a struggle for ppwer are what makes, "The Bacchae" unique. The De partment of Peforming Arts pre sents the play starting on Friday at 8 p.m. in McCrary Theatre. “It’s an exciting production that is vibrant and active," said Di rector Fred Rubeck. "The Bacchae" is a Greek tragedy that tells the story of two ' gods, Dionysus, played by Chris Patterson, and Pentheus, played by Justin Roller. The play also shows their battle for power in the city of Thebes, the setting of the play. "The central action happens in front of a Greek palace," Rubeck said. "The play explores how the will of man is in conflict with the will of God. “It’s about our own determi nation versus our natural instincts." The title of the play is derived from the name of a group of char acters in the play called the bacchae, who are followers of Dionysus and are put under his spell. “They are enchanting and mysterious women who give their lives to him, “ said Alyssa J. Cartwright and Natasha Suran, who are both part of the bacchae. Other characters in the play include Teiresias, played by Jamal Green and a messenger, played by Christian Taylor. "Teiresias is a blind prophet who warns the king that if he doesn ’ t follow Dionysus and accept him as a true god, he will kill him," Green said. "The messenger acts as a sort of advisor to the king," Taylor said. The background of this Greek tragedy begins when Dionysus’ mother, Semele, finds out she is pregnant by Zeus, the King of the gods. Zeus’ wife, Hera, learns of' this and is angered by this behavior. She goes undercover and goes to Semele, who persuades her to go to Zeus in order to convince him to disclose his true self to her. Zeus appears as a lightning bolt and kills Semele. He keeps the unborn child until it is ready to be born. Dionysus is then raised and protected by godesses of the moun tains, called nymphs. The play picks up when Dionysus comes back to the city of Thebes after 18 years. He is fol lowed by the bacchae, who have come with him from Asia. While in the city, he tries to convince the citizens that he is a god, and de mands the worship of all of them. The new King of Thebes, Pentheus, angry at Dionysus ’ s boast ing, denies that he is a god and forbids the citizens to worship him. “The king is very authorita tive and power hungry. "He is new to the throne, loves the power and doesn’t like to be threatened,” Roller said about his character. This angers Dionysus and he casts a spell over the women of the city, which makes them act wild “They are very sexual, almost eerie," Heather A. Dearden said. "They are possessed by him and movements and good acting,” Rubeck said. Immediately after auditions, Rubeck began matching the ac- strong voices, expressive body tors with the characters. Rehears als began in mid-February. As director, Rubeck helped the actors prepare different scenes and develop their characters through a variety of activities and exercises. "Before each rehearsal, the actors did body and voice exer cises that turned their attention on the play," Rubeck said. "During rehearsal they also did a series of activities in relation to the charac ters in the play." Chris Patterson, who plays Dionysus, said it was fun playing Crystal Pape/ The Pendulum The Bacchae cast rehearse this week maybe even obsessed with him be cause they are motivated by this obsession.” Pentheus is angry that Dionysus is being worshipped and orders him to be captured. Dionysus is caught and held captive. This enrages him and all hell breaks loose, literally. He destroys the palace by an earthquake and sets up Pentheus, which leads him to trouble. As with any Greek tragedy, a tradegy does in fact happen. You will have to wait until to tonight to find out the fate of these characters. Production began almost six weeks ago with open auditions and casting. “I was looking for people with a god, but was also awkward. “In daily life I would inter act with them normally, but dur ing rehearsal they were treating me like a god and they were my subjects," Patterson said. "The balance of power was difficult.“ As Pentheus, Roller said he had to find ways to make himself look bigger and more godlike. “I worked on things like my posture and how I carried my self,” he added. The group of women play ing the bacchae had the opportu nity to be more relaxed and let their guards down while in char acter. “We let ourselves and our inhibitions go," Cartwright and Suran said. "The help of costumes and music helped them get into charac ter as well," Dearden said. Not only did Rubeck help the actors get into character and de velop the scenes, his job also in cluded coordinating the efforts of everyone so that everything fell into place, he said. “Everything sort of happened at the same time, “ he added. Rubeck worked with the set designer, the lighting designer and the technical director in a collabo rative effort to make it all happen. “You figure out how you want to do it and you bring the script to life,” Rubeck said. Dale Becherer, scenic de signer for the theatre department, said the key element was commu nicating clearly with one another. The production process for the set began when Becherer worked on a paper design. “I did sketches and then a ground plan," Becherer said. "The ground plan is a key element be cause I arrange the space on stage for the movement of the actors that helps facilitate the telling of the story." Once the design was finished, building of the set began. Bill Webb, lighting designer and tech nical director, handled the superior construction of the set and incor porated music and sound effects into the play. “There are 12 people that you never see helping make the magic happen,” Rubeck said; In addition, Rubeck said that the setting and lighting make the play exciting. "The actual process has been really well developed, from begin ning to end,"he said. " It’samazing how they were able to have all the elements together at the right time." Performances of "The Bacchae" are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. in McCrary. Write for A&E! call Erik at X6767 Do you know a student or a professor that should be injaU?!? If so, put them behind bars this Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in front of Moseley I ■ ii ■ Jail
Elon University Student Newspaper
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April 16, 1998, edition 1
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