A group of student actors from Rhodes College will reprise last season’s production of Iphigenia and Other Daughters for the Arezzo Teatro international festival in Tuscany, Italy. They are one of only three American companies invited to the festival.
“We were asked to apply,” says director, Rhodes alum, and visiting faculty member Brad Shelton, “and we did, and that was that.” Shelton says he thinks having worked on a successful professional version of the show in Chicago prior to directing the equally well-received production at Rhodes was a key factor in being chosen for the festival.
“We sent a copy of a review from the Chicago production,” Shelton says, “as well as the review from the Flyer as part of the package. And they invited us to come.”
The other American companies chosen for the festival include groups from the University of Texas and Mount Holyoke College. They will share the stage with notable European companies, including the Beckett Institute of Dublin..
Iphigenia and Other Daughters is by classical revisionist Ellen McLaughlin, whose newest play, Helen, opened in New York this week under the direction of Angels in America author Tony Kushner. Shelton says the play is about exploring the role of women in a male-dominated society.
“The issue is one that interests me even more now, given the situation in the Middle East,” Shelton says. “I’m also interested in seeing how it plays in Italy, another male-dominated society.”
The Rhodes performance is slated for May 24th.
