The Oresteia tells the story of The Curse of the House of Atreus, in which murder and mass mayhem rage rampant. The tale takes place over a span of years and has been adapted for relevancy and audience understanding as well as duration. The show combines the trilogy of Aeschylus’ plays into one. When asked how much editing and adaptation she had to do in order to shorten the show considerably but without losing it altogether, Ms. Blumberg states that it was like “cutting Shakespeare - a lot!”

Life Blumberg has been a student at Berea College since 1993 and is an independent major in Classical Greek and Roman Theatre. She hopes to continue on to graduate school upon completion of her bachelor’s degree, and is applying to Oxford, Yale and Chapel Hill, among others. Ms. Blumberg has been working on this adaptation of the play for about three years, and spent a semester abroad in Greece researching the play and its context. This will be her first major directing project. Says Ms. Blumberg when asked why she picked this particular play; ”This play is everything that theatre should be. It was written in the days when theatre was a religious experience, a social experience, and intrinsic to democracy. Aeschylus transforms his audience, allowing people to change themselves.” She goes on to add that she thinks, “Aeschylus is one of the most masterful tragedians to have ever lived,” and that the experience of adapting the show was very positive.

The production team is made up of senior theatre majors as part of a capstone collaborative learning course. The show is designed and produced by these seniors under guidance and supervision of Professor Shan Ayers. Class/Production team members include Anika Alvar, Life Blumberg, Bruce Cooper, Starnique Fields, Katherine Gerkin, Esther Greene, Olivia Holbrook, Tim Platt, Cara Speckhals and Carrie Stuart.

The cast members include *Anika Alvar, Eric Baldwin, *Esther Greene, Nathaniel Green, Jeremy Yates, Clay Goodpasture, Michelle Whisman, Anna-Jeannine Kemper, Scott Jones, Katie Davis, Clinton Hines, Justin Dearing, Jeremiah McNeil, Dina Haines, Sarah Plummer, Susan Bond, Shiloh Owens and Thomas Evans. (*Stars indicate member of Senior Theatre Project.)

Performances for The Oresteia are 8 p.m. November 9,10,14,15,16 and 17. Berea College students are admitted free of charge. All other general admission tickets are $5. The Box Office is open Monday-Friday form 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Tickets may be reserved by calling the Box Office.