Theater on Ancient Greek Stages
Greek playwrights all deserve Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement. Despite evidence of earlier, informal public presentations on issues of the day, it was the Greeks who first catapulted theatrical performance to a grand scale.
Coastal Senior College invites you to be their guest monthly on complimentary explorations of “Theater on Ancient Greek Stages.”
Each month, we will return to one of the remaining outdoor stone theaters with one of the great Greek playwrights as we follow the path of one key character through the action of a comedy, a tragedy or a satyr play from the 5th century BCE.
Join CSC instructor Joseph Coté on Zoom on the third Monday of each month, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Each session is limited to 18 Zoom “travelers” who will first be introduced to the period, the playwright and the background of the play. Vital scenes from the plays will be read aloud by class volunteers, and all are encouraged to participate in the “limited-lecture/high-interaction” format with feedback and discussion.
On the 4th Monday of each month a link to the registration page for the upcoming month's session will be posted here. Membership in the group is dynamic. Members will need to register monthly if they wish to attend the upcoming exploration.
Play texts, vital background information, video and film sources of contemporary productions, and critical offerings from various scholars will be provided two weeks prior to each event. A Zoom link will be sent three days before the event day and again the morning of the session.
Upcoming Playwrights, Plays, and Characters in the spotlight include:
15 September *comedy*
“LYSISTRA” by Aristophanes (411 BCE)
The journey of the witty and determined LYSISTRA through the play.
The women of the Greek city-states refuse intimacy with their husbands until the men halt the hostilities of the Peloponnesian War which lasted for more than twenty years; the play is notable for being an early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society.
20 October *tragedy*
“ELECTRA” by Sophocles (circa 415 BCE)
The journey of the witty and determined ELECTRA through the play.
A sister passionately chooses to aid her brother in killing their mother and her lover in retribution for their tragic murder of their father, Agamemnon; virtue triumphant or a young woman incurably twisted by years of hatred and resentment?
17 November *satyr play*
“CYCLOPS” by Euripides (circa 400 BCE)
The journey of the legendary Greek King ODYSSEUS through the play.
This only complete and extant Greek satyr play tells the tale of Odysseus and his crew being trapped en route back home to Ithica after the Trojan War by the Cyclops Polyphemus and their escape by tricking him; modern tones of social justice and welfare issues.
15 December *comedy*
“THE BIRDS” by Aristophanes (414 BCE)
The journey of manipulative, power-hungry PISTHETAERUS through the play.
A satire that explores the classic theme of how those who try to escape oppression often become the oppressors themselves; the comedy leads to an ending where one man becomes so powerful that he bends the Olympian gods to his will, agreeing to declare him their king and even Zeus surrenders his scepter and his girlfriend, Sovereignty, to the new tyrant.