“Oedipus” director goes to the source for authenticity

Tom Titus

Drama? The Greeks had a word for it. Several words, in fact, and Tom

Amen knows them all.

Golden West College’s theater instructor and director will tell you

that our word “theater” springs from the Greeks’ “theatron,” or “seeing

place,” a grassy hillside or a raked seating arrangement. That the

“orchestra” or “dancing place,” is the primary focus of action, and the

“skene” is a “scene house” in front of which the action takes place, and

from which the main characters enter and exit.

Amen knows these things, partly, because he’s been to Greece three

times in the past three years researching ways to make Greek theater more

accessible to modern audiences and, at the same time, give that audience

a feel for what the plays may have looked and sounded like when first

produced in ancient times.

The culmination of that research will be unveiled on the Golden West

College stage this weekend in a production of Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex.”

It is a project, which excites Amen to no end.

“I have always been captivated by the myths of ancient Greece,” he

explains, “beginning with my grandfather, who used to tell me these

stories as a child, and later, through studying under the late H. Wynn

Pearce at Saddleback College.”

“Oedipus Rex” was the first play Amen ever read, and he credits Pearce

with making the Greek theater come to life.

Now Amen is prepared to take his own crack at Greek drama in the form

of the classic tragedy of Oedipus. And between himself and master set

designer Sigrid Hammer Wolf, the Golden West production should reek of

authenticity.

“The overall scene design was influenced by the Theater of Herodus

Atticus in Athens, which is an excellent example of the Greco-Roman style

of theater architecture,” Amen declares. “This same theater is still in

use today, and regularly produced ancient Greek drama.”

In terms of the text, he admits, the college production will

incorporate a number of adjustments and cuts to make it more playable.

“It maintains its formality, yet it is a bit more familiar in its

style,” Amen explains. “My goal was to try to find a way to use the

elevated dialogue of the play, while finding ways to make it fit with the

way a contemporary method actor works. I think we’ve done that.

“In terms of the costumes, my designer, Robin Whitney, and I wanted to

create a sense of the visual spectacle that was so much a part of Greek

drama,” he notes. “We have chosen to be very bold in our costume designs,

straying from any literal representation of reality and moving toward a

more stylized, presentational and theatrical treatment.”

Golden West’s “Oedipus” won’t be employing masks, as the original

Greeks did -- primarily to hide the fact that one actor was playing many

parts. But the makeup, he promises, will be very elaborate, virtually

“accomplishing the same thing while allowing the audience to see agreater

range of facial expression from the actors.”

One reason few theater companies tackle the ancient Greeks today is

the preconception that the presentation would come off as “a history

lesson, one that is ‘good for you’ and at the same time, incredibly

dull,” according to Amen, who vows to avoid that sensation in

his”Oedipus.”

“In terms of the message of the play, I believe that Sophocles is

warning his audience against arrogance and excessive pride,” Amen

declares. “When the play was written, Athens was in the midst of an

incredible rise to power and dominance. I think audiences at the

timewould have been able to see that Sophocles had chosen to explore the

myth of Oedipus as an allegorical story that was applicable to his own

time.”

Golden West audiences will get the chance to see what Sophocles, and

Amen, had in mind when “Oedipus Rex” opens Friday for six performances.

After all, the Greeks not only had a word for it, they invented it.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.

WHAT: “Oedipus Rex”

WHERE: Golden West College Mainstage Theater

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and March 14, 15 & 16; 3 p.m. Sunday,

March 10

COST: $8.50 - $10.50

PHONE: (714) 895-8150