4th World Theater is presenting a production of Euripides’ Medea at Muse Arts Warehouse, 703 Louisville Rd., in Savannah August 16-18 and August 23-24. All show times are 8 p.m., except for a Sunday matinee performance on August 18 at 2 p.m. in lieu of a Sunday evening performance. Tickets — $10 general admission and $5 for students — will be available at the box office beginning an hour before each performance.
I’m certainly looking forward to this one.
I emailed some questions about the production to director Kevin Gavin. His responses here are well worth a read.
Enjoy:
Bill Dawers: Years ago, you directed a production of Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade, which was one of the most memorable Savannah theater experiences I’ve ever had. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would say that. What made that production so successful?
Kevin Gavin: Wow, you’re very kind! It’s been almost twenty years, and people still do mention this play to me. It was memorable for me, too. We were fortunate in so many ways. Of course, the level of talent involved is the most important factor in any production. I always strive to combine youthful energy with experience and theatrical presence, and when it works I think you get the kind of creative synergy that only theater can provide. Secondly, you need a great play, and Marat/Sade gave us ample opportunity to spread our creative wings. Thirdly, you need some luck. For example, at that time Rody’s was opening a theatrical division of their company, and they gave us an amazing light and sound package at an affordable cost. Lastly (and this is the one thing that I can’t even try to duplicate in our current show), there was the space. The blacksmith shop at the Roundhouse was (and is) hauntingly beautiful, and it lent a looming, mysterious aura to the dramatic action.
BD: So what drew you to Medea?
KG: First and foremost, the talents of Anna Burrell. I think people are going to be just blown away by her performance. The figure of Medea is without a doubt the most challenging and powerful female role in the entire repertoire. Anna has an amazing range, and I knew she could pull it off brilliantly. Secondly, as someone who has spent a long time studying and teaching the classics, I have always wanted to confront the difficulties of staging a Greek tragedy. There’s a certain austere beauty that can be challenging for audience and actor alike. To make the play more accessible, yet without (hopefully!) losing this essential quality, I decided to do a conventional staging, but interspersed with experimental choral interludes: dance, original music (people will love Electric Grandma!), and video installations (by the gifted young director Lubomir Kocka, who already has an Academy Award–student entry–under his belt).
BD: There are many myths about Medea and the brutal vengeance (is that the right word?) she inflicts upon her husband Jason. How is Euripides’ characterization of Medea different from other classic stories about her?
KG: As far as the evidence goes, Euripides was the first person to charge her directly with the crime of killing her children. The original suspects were the citizens of Corinth, where the children are buried. An interesting side note to this is the (most likely apocryphal) legend that Euripides took a bribe from the Corinthians to transfer the blood-guilt for this crime to the Athenians, who offer Medea asylum. There is, in fact, something of a cryptic political subtext to this play, which was performed on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. One gets the sense, in other works as well, that Euripides lays the bulk of the blame for this conflict at the feet of the Athenians.
In other ways, Euripides follows the broad outlines of the received myth tradition.
BD: You’ve got a great cast that includes some established Savannah theater names, but most haven’t been particularly active on stage in recent years. Could you say something about the cast and how they were chosen?
KG: Anna, of course, was immediately open to the idea. As was Jim Morekis, as soon as I mentioned it. He has been terrific. What an intelligent actor! Both of them, of course, were in Marat/Sade, so they were familiar with my process, and were ideal for the roles. JR Roberts, Anna’s partner, is an extremely dedicated and talented theater professional, and brings the right gravitas to the role of Creon. We are fortunate to have him, and his advice on various aspects of the production has been invaluable. Adam Bailey is a film student, at SCAD, and is blessed with a suave, fluent manner on the stage. All three of these male actors have had to find a way to deal with the powerful presence of Medea, which is no easy feat! I think they succeed wonderfully.
Our chorus is made up of Lucia Garcia, the lead singer of Electric Grandma, and Alice Clifton. Lucia is a natural! She has a way of tapping into the emotional depth of her lines with remarkable precision, and her stage presence is exceptionally strong. And Alice has been amazing! Her recitations have an oracular, dreamlike quality, which is quite compelling.
BD: How would you describe your directing style? Will the production be a close approximation of your original vision? Or something quite different?
KG: I would be reluctant to credit myself with a “directing style”! At the end of the day, I’m a Latin teacher, and a student of the classics, who likes to dabble in theater. I harbor no illusions with regard to my theatrical expertise! I did, though, go back and re-read the play, in Greek, which gave me some foundations to build on. More generally, I like to provide talented individuals with a place to express themselves. I like to think I’m open to revision and collaboration, and I like to promote that kind of atmosphere. The play has developed in an organic fashion, collaboratively, as it should be, it seems to me. The one detail I did come in with in something like a fixed form is the deus ex machina, the divine plot resolution. In Euripides, Medea makes her escape, at the end of the play, in a dragon-drawn chariot. I had another idea, which I don’t want to give away!
BD: Medea is frequently viewed through a feminist lens, right? What are your thoughts on that?
KG: She is a proto-feminist heroine, no doubt about it, but Euripides forces us to view her heroic acts through a series of ironic screens. Suffice to say that he was accused both of being pro-female, and (more often) mysogynistic. We have not tried to make the figure of Medea any easier for our audience than Euripides did for his own contemporaries.
BD: Let’s say someone doesn’t know Euripides’ play at all and knows nothing of the various myths and stories about Medea, Jason, Creon and the rest. What might that audience member take away from this production?
KG: This is an easy one! Euripides’ Medea is a timeless tale of passion, betrayal, jealousy and revenge. Unless someone checks their humanity at the door, they are going to come out transformed!