Discussing aspects of production

SCIT conducted its second Stanford Classics Reception Workshop colloquium on March 2, this time covering aspects of production for our 2010 show, Aristophanes' Clouds.

We were lucky enough to enjoy the input of faculty at this session, as well as the perspective of a local thespian, Mr. Bennett Fisher of the Atmos Theatre Company and San Francisco Theater Pub. The latter company produced a version of Euripides lone surviving satyr play the Cyclops featuring our own James Kierstead; the present writer was privileged to see it, and to enjoy a frosty beverage at the bar where it was conducted! How's that for restoring some of the old Dionysiac spirit to Classical drama?

The first set of problems we tackled involved the staging of the agon or "debate" scene from the Clouds, the details of which I will not disclose for the sake of those who want to be surprised at the final show. At the time of the colloquium I presented a paper on the history of interpretations of this scene and on some aspects of the ancient staging. According to one ancient commentator, Aristophanes presented the two participants in the debate onstage as fighting cocks in wicker cages, a scene possibly (though not probably) depicted on the image below of the "Getty birds," from a near-contemporary vase. Needless to say, we will not be replicating this now-obscure metaphor.

Other important issues that came up during this presentation included: whether or not we should supplement comic dialogue with creative staging, pantomime, and tableau, or let the words speak for themselves; how to get an audience into a debate on stage, where it's more about ideas and language than action; and how to create characters who are convincing amalgams of pop-culture stereotypes without being puzzling or distracting.

Next we discussed Socrates' infamous entrance scene. (If you read Plato's Apology you'll see that this scene stuck in many people's minds!) How could we pull it off? Does our performance space permit such "special effects"? And can we do it without breaking our Socrates' neck? (Yes, of course, Mr. Perry, if you're reading this...)

Finally, we talked about our Cloud chorus, which is the one really unchanged holdover from the original Greek version. Choruses are always tricky beasts to incorporate into a modern production, and can run the gamut from being seamlessly integrated into the action to being awkward appendages that no modern audience understands. In our case we also have to address the problem of presenting a chorus which, in 423 BCE, would have made perfect sense as a representation of new, "sophistic" deities tied to developments in natural science, but which now has its closest equivalent in the phrase "head in the clouds." In any case, we're committed to giving our chorus even more song-and-dance numbers than last year, and to getting as creative as possible with our presentation of fluffy white "cloudness."

We came away from the colloquium with several great new ideas and helpful recommendations. Our next step is to read through the script with our wonderful cast!