Christopher Bungard (Butler University)
Envisioning Past Theatre for the Future
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed performers seeking an audience towards web-based platforms. This shift provides a unique opportunity for ancient theatre practitioners to think about how to deliver their ideas for future audiences. Streaming audiences are more likely to be younger and more diverse (Live-to-Digital). Given the challenges to Classics, now seems a particularly crucial time to think about the productive possibilities of presenting ancient theatre in digital formats.
This paper provides a comparative discussion of two productions of Euripides’ Helen, one live from the University of Vermont in March 2018 and the most recent CAMP staged reading. Particularly, I will focus on choral music and the gods, the two most challenging aspects of Greek tragedy for modern productions.
With limited communication technology, ancient Athenians were accustomed to hear news by word of mouth. The Athenian tragic chorus reflects how stories move through communities. In Euripides’ Helen, the chorus first arrives to comfort Helen who cries out in pain at the news of the loss of her mother, brothers, and husband. In the UV production, the chorus of seven women encircle Helen, as if protecting her, comparing her to a naiad rejecting unwanted advances from Pan (183-190). They amplify her plight by their collective presence around her.
In contrast, the CAMP version presents the lyrical passages through pre-recorded animated songs, discarding the chorus of seven women. Given the persistence of mediated news sources, this choice taps into the modern audience’s expected worldview. In place of a supportive chorus, the narrations focus the audience visually on the ideas in Helen’s lament. The audience sees Helen longing for home. They see Troy burning. They see Leda and the Dioskouroi, all now dead. The emphasis has shifted, but the impact remains powerful for the audience as they seek to understand Helen’s mindset.
Since modern audiences are not typically equipped with the staging expectations of ancient Athenians, presenting the gods on stage strains credibility. These moments often fall flat through no fault of the director. In the UV production, ethereal harp music announces the arrival of the Dioskouroi. They enter stage right, the chorus bows, and they make their proclamation. The CAMP version provides a much more heavenly entrance. Using green screen technology, the Dioskouroi suddenly appear, partially blending into the starry background. The effect is much more monumental, and this gives their prohibition to the Egyptian king greater weight.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to reimagine traditional ways of doing things, and out of this forced reimagining comes the opportunity to think creatively about the ways we present ancient drama in engaging ways so the complex ideas of ancient drama continue to speak to and challenge modern audiences. Live and Zoom performances have their separate strengths, and directors of ancient drama do well to think about where each mode helps enhance those aspects of the drama most crucial for the issues that they wish their audiences to engage in.