GREEK PLAY IN STADIUM

Aeschylus' "Agamemnon," which will be given in the Stadium on June 16 and 19, is the tragic tale of the great leader of the host against Troy. Agamemnon, after ten years of absence from Troy, returns at the beginning of the trilogy to find his queen, Clytaemestra, living with her paramour, Aegisthus. The king, however, brings the captive Trojan priestess, Cassandra, in his train, and if the queen is guilty, her lord is not free from blame. The most dramatic scene of the play is that in which Cassandra before the palace doors vividly foresees the fate that awaits both herself and Agamemnon within. She is helpless, however, to avert the terrible tragedy. After she enters the doors, the death cries of the king are heard from within, and the masterful queen is seen exulting over the two murdered bodies. She then quiets Aegisthus, whom she saves from the Argives.

The curved end of the Stadium, which will accommodate the audience, will be cut off by a high back scene. This will probably be constructed of wood and will represent Agamemnon's palace. In addition to its scenic effect the back scene will also serve as a sounding board. The two chariots, each drawn by four horses, will enter from the side. Agamemnon and his driver will occupy one chariot, and Cassandra and her driver will enter in the other. The costumes in the play will be exact representations of those used on the Attic stage at the time of Aeschylus. The latter made many innovations in stage costuming.

"Agamemnon" was first presented at the theatre of Dionysus at Athens at the time of the Greater Dionysia in 458 B.C. A few duplicate tickets, to be kept as souvenirs, will be issued in the form of the tickets used at the performance at Athens. Professor W. W. Goodwin is preparing a prose translation for the libretto. The details of the stage building have not been definitely settled as yet.

Individual rehearsals are now being held with the several members of the committee in charge of the play. In cases where two names follow the characters in the following provisional assignment of parts it has not yet been decided to which of the two men the part will finally be assigned: Agamemnon,  A. L. Benshimol '07   P. H. Noyes '06   R. A. Moore 1G. Clytaemestra,  H. S. Wyndham-Gittens '06 Cassandra,  A. S. A. Brady '08 Coryphaeus,  F. H. Birch 2L. Herald,  D. Gardiner '07   H. C. Washburn '06 Aegisthus,  A. L. Benshimol '07   L. Carroll 1G. Watchman,  M. C. Clapp '07   B. H. Gordon '08

Later in the year there will be a demand for many mute figures to fill the positions of soldiers and the like.

Later in the year there will be a demand for many mute figures to fill the positions of soldiers and the like.