By Dakoda Smith, Staff Writer
Bryant Belknap, acting senior, holds a knife up to Brytanie Holbrook, acting junior, in the dress rehearsal of The House of Atreus on March 30 in the Burg Theatre in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. The main stage show will perform Thursday, March 31 through Sunday April 3. Photo: Courtney Zanetti/ The Campus
TheatreOCU will premiere a newly composed saga of four Greek tragedies, “House of Atreus,” to enhance the celebration of the inaugural events.
The mainstage production will be at 8 p.m. March 31 through Feb. 2 and 2 p.m. Feb. 3 in The Burg Theatre in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center.
The plays are a classical example of the legal system that is still used in American government, said Lance Marsh, associate professor of theater.
“There is this pretty amazing journey of violence and recrimination and vengeance to this new form of law that is so much a cornerstone of the American legal tradition today,” he said.
Though these plays are classical Greek works, students will be performing an original presentation, Marsh said.
“It’s a brand new world premiere adaptation of four Greek tragedies,” he said. “I’ve been working on this adaptation for two years with a lot of student input.
“It’s pretty groundbreaking.”
The performance will address the same universal themes, Marsh said.
“The four plays tell the story of a cursed family dealing with violence and betrayal — all kinds of great gory details,” he said. “There’s lots of murder, and it’s very dark business.”
Bryant Belknap, acting junior, said his 18-year-old character, Orestes, is set on avenging his father’s death.
“Things don’t go quite as swimmingly as he hoped,” he said. “It’s incredibly difficult for him to do.
“He’s never been trained for war or killed someone before.”
The four stories will be told “through the ages,” Belknap said.
“The first takes place in the Greek period, the second in the 1300s after the Crusades, the third in the 1930s Dust Bowl, and the fourth is contemporary,” he said. “It’s really interesting to see the development of people and society.”
The production gives viewers the opportunity to see the legal structure that served as a model in creating an American convention, Belknap said.
“It’s the first courtroom basically,” he said. “No longer will gods decide the fate of people, but people will decide justice for themselves.”
Tickets are $6 for students, faculty and staff and $12 for general admission. For more information, call 405-208-5227 or visit okcu.edu/tickets.
This article initially appeared in the March 30 issue of The Campus newspaper.
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