Medea And Direction

6 Pages 1491 Words

Medea is not an easy text on a few different levels. On the most basic, it is difficult to read. The language, while translated, isn’t the easiest to follow, and the story line is sometimes choppy. On a different level, the nature of the play, as a tragedy, may be difficult for some theatre-goers to handle. Not that murder was anything new to the stage even in Euripidess’ time, but some may argue that even today, the play would have a PG-13 rating on it.
The prologue of the play doesn’t go as far as to reveal the ending, but it speculates. The Nurse is acting as the narrator for the audience in the opening pages of the play. She tells the audience that Jason has decided to go to Corinth, thus breaking up his family. The Nurse goes on to reveal that this family is turning to turmoil. She talks about Medea “She hates her sons. / Takes no pleasure in their sight. / I dread to think / of what is hatching in her mind.” (Lines 46-49) The purpose for this scene is to set the play up to be a disaster. While not the most uplifting piece, Medea is one that is still thoroughly studied and widely known.
For my performance of the prologue, I will use the facade of Cochrane hall. This space, while not a traditional theatrical venue, lends itself quite nicely to outdoor drama. The walkway leading up to the steps from North Maine street forms what could be a thrust stage. There is also a sidewalk that goes in front of the main steps to the building which can be used theatrically. The audience will stand on either side of the thrust on the grass and watch the action unfold. The steps to the building will be used for the chorus when they are saying lines.
The language and structure of the text is difficult sometimes for the actors to memorize, but easier, I think, for the audience to understand than perhaps the Shakespeare text we worked with earlier in the semester. The translation that I’m using is the one that was provided to us in the...