Mississippi State University’s Theatre program opens the doors to the McCommas Theatre Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. for the first performance of “Trojan Women,” an ancient Greek tragedy by the famous playwright Euripides and the second play MSU Theatre has put on this semester.
“Trojan Women,” explores the lives of the women of Troy after the conclusion of a devastating war with Greece. The women saw their husbands and sons killed and their families captured as slaves as they struggle to adapt to a post-war life alongside the occupying Greek soldiers who caused most of their misfortune.
Cody Stockstill, who has been a director and assistant professor at MSU for three years, is the driving creative force behind “Trojan Women” and said his take on the classic pays homage to the time-tested methodology of greek tragedies while weaving in both subtle and striking instances of modernization.
“Everyone thinks greek tragedy has to be dark and gloomy. Blacks and greys,” Stockstill said. “We’re doing sort of the opposite where it’s bleak and light, a little bit ary and warm.”
Stockstill, who said he has been working in theatrical design since he was 18, said the aesthetic he wanted to achieve for “Trojan Women” is one of dryness. The set, a massive two story structure comprising the back of the McCommas Theatre stage, is a mixture of sand-blasted pastels and soft tans layered over seemingly concrete structures quickly establishes a dry, tired enviroment.
“It’s even in the lighting,” Stockstill said. “A lot of the lights are greys and bleached out blues.”
Hannah Krapac, a junior criminology major from Vicksburg, and the assistant stage manager for the production, said this was the first play she has been involved with at MSU. Krapac said she has really enjoyed the process of putting on a show so far, and appreciates the elements of modernity that are most apparent in the Greek soldiers’ costumes in Stockstill’s vision of the centuries-old tragedy.
“Cody added a lot of stuff to it that’s pretty cool,” Krapac said. “A lot of guns and handcuffs and things like that.”
Amanda Kitch, a freshman communications major, said she was active in theatre in highschool and is making her first appearance in an MSU production with “Trojan Women.” She said she is a member of the ‘chorus’, which is a common element in Greek plays comprised of several cast members who are essentially the audience’s eyes and ears on the stage and serve to allow audience members to, in a way, experience the action through the chorus.
“The chorus is basically the background in a Greek play, so we were required to go to every rehearsal,” Kitch said. “It was pretty strenuous, kinda exhausting, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Kitch said it was also exciting to work with Assistant Professor of Communication James Matheny, who directed MSU’s children’s show “Pinocchio” earlier this semester. Matheny worked with Stockstill on “Trojan Women” to choreograph the stage combat for the show.
Much of the cast of “Trojan Women” are underclassmen, Kitch said, and for a lot of them this is their first show. Kitch said as this is only Stockstill’s third year in his position, he is in a way new to MSU theatre similar to the fresh cast members and is doing a fantastic job.
“Cody is pretty laid back, and he definitely knows what he is doing,” Kitch said. “He reminds me of my high school music teacher were you don’t really think about the blocking before the rehearsal. You just kind of watch it happen and think ‘Oh, this is a good idea. I’m going to do this and this and this.’ His wheels are always turning.”
Lilly Sheridan, junior theatre and spanish major who plays the widowed princess Andromache in “Trojan Women,” at the center of much of the plot, said her first play with MSU was in 2013 and this show has been one of the smoothest she has been involved with.
“This one has come together really well,” Sheridan said. “Everyone meshed really well and everyone gets along really well.”
Another central character, Helen – a prominent Greek citizen who is effectively blamed for the war by the other characters in the play, is played by freshman Communications major Alyssa Parrish who just finished playing four roles in MSU’s “Pinocchio.”
Helen, with her wealthy background and lavish-albeit-reserved costume, stands in contrast to the show’s consistently stark, subdued and subjegated themes.
“Helen doesn’t have quite as much physicality as some of the other characters,” Parrish said. “Compared to most of the play, my scene is very reserved. Very psychological.”
Stockstill said he agreed with other members of the cast and crew who said this production has been, at least relatively, painless.
“I don’t want to say it’s been easy because no show is easy, especially one with so much emotional content,” Stockstill said. “But this one has been a really fun process. Seeing the cast individualize their parts and bring it together as a group has been really interesting.”
