Medea

M E D E A
by Euripides
translated by Robinson Jeffers

The opening chant by the chorus.

Medea (Samantha Kern) is sent into exile by Creon (Jerald Edwards)

Medea (Samantha Kern) is confronted by Jason (Jason Dryden).

Medea (Samantha Kern) seduces Aegeus (A. Ryan Chody).

The discovery of the death of the children.

The Cast & Crew. Back Row - Laura Ewing, Jerald Edwards, Jason Dryden, Michael Ewing,
A. Ryan Chody, Joel Williams, Eric Young, Lauren Marshall, Samantha Kern, Shannon Kern,
2nd Row - Misty Ayres, Chnook Wood, Juliana Stewart, Valerie Fjeseth, Katherine Bonin
Front Row - Jaimie Garr, Ty MacHott, Sarah Rekab, Cameron Harris, Kari L. Stanley

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

     Through out the Festival Years at Cameron, the Department of Theatre Arts has consistently focused its season to the corresponding theme, be it The Year of the Renaissance, Cultural Diversity, or as is the case this year, Bridging the Millennia. The selection process this entails has always proved challenging, yet rewarding.
     This year was no exception. From the beginning, I wanted to present a Medea that would somehow bridge the millennia. With babies being left in dumpsters, the woman drowning her children in North Carolina, the topicality of the play was speaking to me.
     I also knew that we were not going to present the work in the traditional classic way which would include the actors wearing masks. Plans were already underway for this avenue to be explored by our production of Everyman. While valid for a Greek tragedy, I believed that our audience would find such duplication repetitive.
     A bit of serendipity began to present itself. Within days of one another, Dr. Sally Soelle, Associate Dean of the School of Liberal Arts, and Dr. Barbara Kerr Scott, Professor of Art, had e-mailed me articles about how many of today's new plays were dealing with the apocalypse. Taking this idea one step further, I decided that our Medea would be placed in Corinth after the bombs had dropped, the earth scorched, governments toppled, and human civilization savaged by radiation. A place where the Greek gods and heroes such as Jason could be reborn and walk again. I was fortunate that my design team willingly took on this creative challenge. The biggest question we faced was what pieces of the past would filter through to our not so distant future? Hopefully, you will agree with me that our design team was indeed up to this task.
     Another question we faced was what music or song would survive the apocalypse? Here again, another piece of serendipity presented itself with the addition of Dr. James Cunningham to our Music faculty. Dr. Cunningham has an excellent background in World music. During a School of Liberal Arts social gathering this past fall, I heard Dr. Cunningham play an instrument I was totally unfamiliar with, a didgeridoo. This unique sound captured my attention. Fortunately, Dr. Cunningham had actually made a number of recordings featuring this instrument, and he was more than willing to share them with our production.
     So, here are the pieces of the puzzle that will allow our production of Medea to Bridge the Millennia and examine perhaps the timeless question of revenge.
                                                                                           Scott Richard Klein