The Trojan Women selected for regional honors

photo by Rick Smith


Oakland University’s production of The Trojan Women is one of eight regional productions selected for performance at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Region III Festival. Region III includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

To prepare for the three Festival performances and to help raise the funds it will take to transport the company to Saginaw Valley State University, the Theatre Program will present two benefit performances of The Trojan Women on Saturday, January 3 and Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 8 p.m., in Varner Studio Theatre. Each 70-minute performance will be shadow interpreted for our deaf and hard of hearing patrons by Terptheatre.

Tickets are $20 all seats. Because the box office will be closed, reservations will be taken at 248-370-2030 or sending an e-mail to mtd@oakland.edu by December 23 with name and contact information. No calls will be taken after December 23. If tickets remain, they will be sold at the door the evening of the performance, beginning at 7 p.m. We will sell to standing room capacity.

The American College Theatre Festival is a yearly, week-long event offering college and university students the chance to participate in workshops, see other departments' work, and compete for scholarship money to complete their education. Oakland University will be represented this year by six students in the Irene Ryan Foundation Acting Scholarship competition and their partners, and six student designers in the Barbizon Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence competition.  One of our students was selected to participate in the O'Neill Critics' Institute competition and another had an original play accepted in the 10 Minute Play Festival.

The Trojan Women, Euripides’ classic play, is considered the first anti-war play in Western literature. The women of Troy struggle with the aftermath of war and the destruction of their beloved homeland. Playwright Ellen McLaughlin developed her riveting adaptation through the Balkan Theater Project in 1996. Oakland's provocative production is performed with prologue/epilogue by the company and is completely student-designed. The 70-minute show is performed without intermission. Each benefit and festival performance will be shadow interpreted by Terptheatre. Oakland’s Theatre Program has a long-standing relationship with Terptheatre, who have shadow interpreted selected productions for deaf and hard of hearing patrons every year since 1998.

Anyone who is unable to attend a benefit performance may support this effort by making a donation. Checks should be made payable to “Oakland University” and sent to Manjit Gill, Department of Music, Theatre and Dance, Oakland University, 211 Varner, Rochester, MI 48309.