WCU's Department of Theatre & Dance Presents The Eumenides Nov. 21 - 24
West Chester University’s Department of Theatre & Dance presents The Eumenides by Aeschylus in a translation by Ian Johnston with guest director Cat Ramirez at the helm. The Eumenides performances are Thursday, November 21, through Saturday, November 23, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 24, at 2:00 p.m., in the MainStage Theatre, E.O. Bull Center for the Arts, 2 E. Rosedale Avenue, West Chester. General admission tickets are $15, $12 for students and seniors with valid I.D. at www.wcupatix.com.
In the timeless Greek tragedy The Eumenides, Orestes is haunted and cursed by The Furies, the goddesses of vengeance, after killing his mother to avenge his father. When he pleads with the goddess Athena for mercy, she gives Orestes a trial in Athens with the god Apollo as one of the witnesses, The Furies as the prosecutors, and the first group of citizens as a jury. The Eumenides has resonated across the centuries due to its profound exploration of morality, fate, and the human condition.
Director Cat Ramirez says, “So much of this classic play resonates with our current political and social climate. The play asks us ‘in a world where the systems made to keep societies functioning only serve a select few, what is the true meaning of justice?’ and ‘How can we create a society where everyone at every level of power can feel agency and autonomy?’ We are still striving for this in today’s world. The characters in the play are all of different social positions – old and new Gods, soldiers and veterans, royals and temple workers. Throughout the course of the trial, they come together to realize that the current system is no longer serving them.”
The Eumenides smashes together the original play text with new, devised segments, created by the cast, Ramirez, and Assistant Director Nicci Hardaway, with additional script work by Dr. Christen Mandracchia. The set, designed by Giulia Pagano, and the costumes by Constance Case, blend traditional Greek imagery with modern-day elements. The sound design features original musical compositions by student sound designer Daniel Michel, inspired by alternative rock and punk. Makeup for the Furies, designed by Ronnie Hernandez, is dramatic and pulls from alternative subcultures, including drag. The lights designed by Audrey Otto blend a fantasy world and a rock concert.
The cast of 15 includes: Ashley Baker (Furies), Kendall Collins (Furies), David Gold (Apollo), JT Hawkes (Furies), Ava Keller (Priestess), Lauren Kurschner (Furies), Raz Remaley (Orestes), Ryler Wheeler (Priestess), Oniha Warren (Clytaemnestra), Kalley Yellak (Athena), Jurors: Julie Eshenauerrivera, Ania Hawkins, Cori Mott, Mali Taylor, Tinall, Ryan Williams.
Cat Ramirez is a queer, mixed-race, Philly-based director and producer who specializes in new plays, devised work, multidisciplinary performance, and event nontraditional performance production. Some of their favorite directing projects include She Was a Conquistawhore with Rachel O’Hanlon Rodriguez, Today Is My Birthday with Theatre Exile, Letters to the Moon with Mel Hsu and Intercultural Journeys, Half Magic with Joseph Ahmed, Good Person of Schezuan at The Wilma, and Meet Murasaki Shikibu with Tiny Dynamite (Barrymore Nominated for Outstanding Direction). They have produced and developed programming for the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Asian Arts Initiative, and Lightning Rod Special. Ramirez is the Creative Director for Philly Asian Performing Artists (PAPA), the Cooperative Operations Manager for Obvious Agency, and a Board Member of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation. They are an alumni of the National New Play Network’s Producer-In-Residence Program and have been recognized by Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs for their contributions to Asian American Theatre in the state of Pennsylvania.
The Department of Theatre and Dance at West Chester University, an accredited institution of the National Association of Schools of Theatre, prepares students for the professional and the academic worlds of Theatre and Dance, while raising student awareness of civility, diversity, creativity, problem-solving and social responsibility. The department offers a BA Theatre degree program with elective concentrations in Musical Theatre, Performance, and Design and Production, in addition to a dance minor and theatre minor.