Tragedy Performance Project

Objectives: This assignment is designed to help you learn first hand how flexible Greek Myths are for thinking and communicating about contemporary issues. Most of the ancient texts we read were also originally performed in some fashion, so this project captures an aspect of experiencing them otherwise lost in class.

Assignment: Use any myth we've studied for class to create an original tragedy or scene from a tragedy. In doing so, follow the genre rules of Attic tragedy, including using an ancient myth for plot lines and characters, use of a chorus, a limited number of actors in any given scene, performing no violence on stage, etc. The most important goal, however, is to use the play to comment upon a contemporary issue in the world, the United States, the Twin Cities or even Macalester. Your performance should be 15-20 minutes long. You do not need to memorize your lines; you may work from a script, but make sure that you do rehearse so that you can read your lines easily and the audience can hear and understand you. You will also need to submit a hard copy of your script with the name of everyone in your group at the time of the performance.

Advice: I recommend that you distribute specific tasks to members of your group. An organizer might be in charge of collecting contact information, organizing meetings and making sure everyone stays in touch and up to date. After everyone meets to pick your myth and issue and conceptualize your play, two or three people might be in charge of writing a draft for others to respond to and improve. Finally, you might appoint a director to organize the performance aspect of the project.

Evaluation: The group will receive a grade for the quality of the play and its performance. Individuals will also evaluate their own contributions to the project, as well as those of every other member of their group. These will be combined with the group grade to create an individual grade for everyone on the assignment. See the evaluation guidelines for more information.

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