SamWeb
My Sam
E-mail
'Trojan Women' To Explore War Aftermath With 'Alluring Imagery'
Oct. 11, 2013
SHSU Media Contact: Emily Schulze Binetti
 |
| Students rehearse for the upcoming production of Trojan Women, which will be performed Oct. 16-19 in the University Theatre Center's Erica Starr Theatre. —Submitted photo |
Sam Houston State University’s Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre will present Euripides’ Trojan Women Wednesday (Oct. 16) through Friday (Oct. 19) in the University Theatre Center’s Erica Starr Theatre.
Performances will begin at 8 p.m. each evening, with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee.
Adapted from Gilbert Murray’s rhyming verse translation, the well-known Greek classic explores the timeless meditation on the moments of individual choice that separate death and life, despair and hope, future and past.
Taking place before the walls of Troy, an ancient city near the western coast of present-day Turkey, the story unfolds at dawn, a day after Greek armies won the Trojan War.
The Trojan women—including Hecuba, the queen of Troy—congregate outside the walls of the burning city in deep despair. Still mourning the slaughter of their husbands and sons, the women await enslavement and exile.
Despite the tragedy of the story, SHSU’s production is designed to give the audience a visually alluring experience.
“My directorial concept is driven by the need to transform a horrific subject into something aesthetic pleasing, even beautiful,” said the show’s director and professor of theatre David McTier.
Designing 'Trojan Women' |
| The Alexander McQueen-inspired costumes for Trojan Women, designed by theatre faculty member Kris Hanssen, will add to the "visual concept" director David McTier is creating with the SHSU production. —Submitted photos |
To create the visual concept, McTier recruited SHSU graduate dance student Travis Prokop to provide original choreography for three modern dances in the production.
Additional creative talents were provided by senior theatre majors Peter Ton for video production and Colton Spurlock for scenic design, described by McTier as “very sculptural.”
In trying to connect new audiences with the story of Trojan Women, the costumes were inspired by the modern fashions of designer Alexander McQueen.
“I designed the show using, among other things, the book on McQueen's work ‘Savage Beauty’ combined with historical research of Greek armor and fashion to twist the garments into a new created period,” said costume designer and theatre faculty member Kris Hanssen. “This new period combines modern fit and construction along with an organic decomposition played out with the silhouette of the ancient Greek fashion.”
The Trojan Women cast includes Katelyn Johnson, Sara Myers, Latoya Curtis, Samira Williams, Adrienne Whitaker, Nathan Wilson, Thomas Williams, Sean Willard, Adriana Dominguez, Maggie Ellison, Tiffany Figueroa, Monique Lott, Monae Lott, Monica Malone, Laura Norby, Kiara Steelhammer, Adrienne Whitaker, Courtney Williams, Audrey Wilson, Chelsea Womack, Trey Brake, Joe Daniels, Blake Jackson, Bryan Okoro and Sean Willard.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and can be purchased at the UTC Box Office, by phone at 936.294.1339, or online at shsu.edu/academics/theatre/tickets.
- END -
This page maintained by SHSU's Communications Office
Associate Director: Julia May
Manager: Jennifer Gauntt
Located in the 115 Administration Building
Telephone: 936.294.1836; Fax: 936.294.1834
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.
