Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University Presents Greek Tragedy Featuring Set Photos by Award-Winning Alumna

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Department of Theatre and Dance at Wittenberg University will present a timely interpretation of Sophocles' ELECTRA, adapted by contemporary Irish playwright Frank McGuinness, Feb. 20-23 at Chakeres Memorial Theatre, 905 Woodlawn Ave. on the Springfield campus. Tickets go on sale Monday, Feb. 10 at the Campus Information Center inside the Benham-Pence Student Center located at the corner of Ward Street and Woodlawn Avenue.

Steven Reynolds, professor and chair of the department of theatre and dance, will direct this poignant play about revenge and the most intimate type of murder - family member against family member. "I've chosen to set the production in today's Afghanistan to accentuate the universality of the story and to underline the tragedy of what has happened to that country where civil war and ideological conflict echo the ancient Greek mythological tales of the House of Atreus," Reynolds said.

Enhancing the production will be a set designed by Jimmy Humphries, associate professor of theatre and dance, which incorporates the stirring photography of award-winning Washington Post photojournalist and 1981 Wittenberg graduate Lois Raimondo.

"Jimmy's provocative set design is remarkable and makes my concept come alive in ways I hadn't imagined," Reynolds said. Additional photographs Raimondo captured while in Afghanistan last year will be displayed in the theatre lobby, which Reynolds said he thinks will keep the spirit of the set alive before and after the 90-minute show.

When Raimondo saw a model of the set design, she was struck by its intensity and how the images brought her back to the war-torn country of Afghanistan. "The emotions, the people, the sad, joyous rush of it all came roaring back to me," Raimondo said. "I think the audience will flow back into moving history."

This exploration of one of Western Civilization's seminal texts will take place at 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 20-22 with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23.

ELECTRA stars seniors LaRissa Ane O'Neal, Indianapolis, Ind., Jordan Boughrum, Las Vegas, Nev., Abigaile Reider, Cincinnati, Ohio and Patrick Killoran, Eagle River, Alaska; juniors Ryan Kerr, Newbury, Ohio and Latifah Hafeez, Springfield, Ohio; sophomores Carl Poole, Cleveland, Ohio, Seton Brown, Springfield, Ohio, Mim Ryman, Graham, N.C. and Crystal Polk, Wadsworth, Ohio.

For ticket information, call the Service Center at (937) 327-7443.

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