Austin Community College is preparing to unleash “Bacchae,” a Greek tragedy that features women caught up in a ritual madness, who take to the hills in a frenzy of intoxication, sex, and ultimately, violence, in worship of the god of wine, Dionysus.
“I have wanted to do this play at ACC since I arrived in 2000,” says Shelby Brammer, Drama Department chair. “When Arthur Adair walked into my office to interview for a faculty position, I knew I had found the right director.”
In “Bacchae,” Euripides tells the story of Dionysus in his confrontation with the young, arrogant King Pentheus of Thebes. Bacchae are the women of the city who abandon their homes to join Dionysus in the hills for a wild, orgiastic gathering, dramatizing the conflict in all humans between the desire for mindless ecstasy, oblivion and blood, and the comforting restrictions of rational thinking, moderation, and control.
“ ‘Bacchae’ has great modern relevance because it examines what happens when our Dionysian impulses are repressed by authority,” Brammer says. “Those impulses emerge, of course, in various weird, sometimes inappropriate ways.”
“ ‘Bacchae’ has much to say to our society,” Adair agrees. “The problem is, what I think it says is not what we want to hear.”
Adair came to ACC in 2007 from New York City, where he worked with LaMama, an off-Broadway theater known for its compelling and unusual adaptations of the classics and also original pieces. He promises “Bacchae” will be an experience for audiences.
“My intention has been to strip Euripides’ ‘Bacchae’ down to its essential structural elements and offer it as honestly as possible in all its glory as a gift of sacrifice, cleansing, and renewal for the audience,” Adair says.
Working with his cast of 15 students, Adair created a new translation of the play that will be lean, passionate, and very clear to the viewer.
“It is perhaps one of the most difficult texts I have worked on,” he says. “My intellectual distaste for what we are creating tells me we are on the right track. “
The production incorporates custom-designed masks, live music, and choreography by Austin’s Debra McAdoo. “Dancing and singing were integral elements in the worship of Dionysus,” Brammer notes.
Adair warns the play is not for everyone. “Expect ritualistic staging, minimalist/poor theatre conventions, expressive soundscape, abstracted movement, and nudity,” he says.
“However, if you are interested in Euripides’ ‘Bacchae,’ as I am, and are wary of contemporary productions, as I am, you need to see this one.”
The Drama Department is still basking in the success of “Proof,” which ended a two-week run October 12. Brammer directed the play, which received glowing reviews from local critics.
“ ‘Proof’ went really well,” Brammer says. “We had a wonderful cast of students, a former student, and a professional actor who is also ACC faculty, and we worked very hard for an intense six weeks to create something of quality.”
She gives special credit to Drama faculty Peter Sukovaty for creating a set and lights that rivaled any theater in town.
“While we don’t have the best facilities or the most money, our goal is always to expose
students to work that’s truly good and not just well funded, in hopes they’ll have a greater
understanding of the difference between image and substance when they leave us.”
“Bacchae” runs two weekends – November 14-16 and November 21-23 – in the Mainstage Theatre of the Rio Grande Campus, 1212 Rio Grande Ave. Friday-Saturday performances are 8 p.m. Sunday matinee is 2 p.m. Admission is $6. Theatergoers should note the play includes some nudity and is not intended for children. For more information call 223.3240 or visit the Drama Department website.
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By Jane November 7, 2008 - 11:14 am
Where is the Mainstage Theatre on the Rio Grande campus? The map doesn’t show it.
By arthur adair November 10, 2008 - 5:17 pm
2nd floor. if you come in through the front doors go up the stairs either to your left or right, when you reach the second floor it will be directly in front of you.
By Phylis November 10, 2008 - 11:20 pm
Are tickets available in advance?
By june November 11, 2008 - 7:38 pm
sounds great, can’t wait to see this!
By Lauren November 12, 2008 - 5:02 pm
How long is the play?
By Barbara November 13, 2008 - 3:00 am
Will the production be suitable for viewing in mixed company?
By Shelby Brammer November 14, 2008 - 8:02 am
Should be suitable for mixed viewing, but please don’t bring small children. There is some brief nudity, and it’s an intense story.
Sorry, no tickets in advance. Please arrive early as the director has requested no late seating. Mainstage is approximately 250 seats, so shouldn’t be a problem getting in fifteen minutes before curtain.
By MrT November 16, 2008 - 4:30 pm
Challenging to watch, intense and dark. I lost a couple of skittles during the play. There are many parallels to Christian-Judeo traditions of sacrifice, cleansing, and renewal. But by far, good performance by actors committed to The Arts.
By Patrick November 17, 2008 - 10:37 am
Length: approx 1 hour 45 min
Regarding the nudity, it is the women (bacchae), no male nudity. There is a large amount of time that most of the women are topless, and about 15 min of full nudity. The front row of seats are used in the performance, so if you would not feel comfortable with the nudity you should sit a couple of rows back. Personally, I see why the nudity was there but I don’t think it was really required and could have been toned down with no loss to the production. I think it would have been better needed if the bacchae were more sexual/sensual in their roles. It showed the bacchae’s violence and frenzy well. The women playing the bacchae did a good job.
Regarding language, there is a small amount of cursing but not much.
Dionysus is played by 3 men at the same time. This was a great idea as it gave the impression of someone (the god) as being greater than mortals. Also, the actors were dissimilar enough to give the impression of 3 different aspects of the god. One of the actors has a couple of modern tattoos; a little suggestion to the production is to use some coverup on the tattoos or better would be to cover his chest and arms in some ritualistic “tattoos” that would both hide the other tattoos and add to the other aspect of this god. When, the actors are referring to God they are referring to Dionysus and possibly at times Zeus. Knowing that in advance helps you to not think that they are trying to make a direct connection/reference to the christian God. The director may have been trying to have an underlying connection between the play and trinity aspects of Dionysus and modern times and the Catholic trinity, but I think that it is a poor connection at best. The actors playing Dionysus as the rest of the cast did a great job.
The set and cast are placed in the their original age of antiquity. The language is in modern english. The sets, lighting, and music fit well with the production.
There is a break in the story near the end due to loss of the original source material. The cast tells you this. Unfortunately, I felt this was very disruptive to the story. They did a good job with the disruption. I think it would have been better to fill in the blanks of the story with new material and then at the end tell the audience where the gap in the material was and what was added.
All in all I thought this was a very good production and highly recommend seeing it.
By Ashley November 18, 2008 - 6:30 pm
Thanks for the review, Patrick! It seems you have a pretty good grasp on what we want to convey. Thanks for coming!
Agave