STUDIO INCARNATE IS A TRAINING AND NEW MEDIA OFFSHOOT OF THEATRE INCARNATE
PROJECTS
2021
UNHONOURED
DIRECTED BY BRENDA McLEAN
Unhonoured is a training series of short monologues adapted from classic Greek texts/plays (Ajax, Hecuba, Agamemnon, and Antigone). Students reimagined these classical scripts and used them to devise and build skills in adapting theatrical texts to new media.
History of the project:
Greek Tragedies have a particular resonance during this time in history; many of these plays were written during great turmoil or wars for the Greek people. For example, “Oedipus the King” was set and written during the plague of Athens. This plague killed an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 people, around one-quarter of their population. Surprisingly or not surprisingly, the relevance of Greek Tragedies has survived 2,500 years because it is not hard to find contemporary parallels to the human condition and realize that, unfortunately, humanity hasn’t evolved enough in over 2,500 years.
These performances were created during this coronavirus pandemic through social distance, filmed mainly by participants in their own homes by themselves, or as a duo at Studio Incarnate, and directed through Zoom.
The training took place through reading scripts and researching Greek Tragedies over Zoom. Participants found characters they wanted to further explore and worked on rewriting their own versions of the monologues, rehearsed them, and then filmed them. Participants had no previous experience in adapting Greek texts and filming them in this way, and we are excited to be growing as artists.
This project came out of a need to stay socially connected during this trying time and continue being creative. This project is as much about caring for each other as it is about making art! We hope you enjoy the project!
AJAX CHORUS
Original Work: Ajax by Sophocles
Adapted and Performed: Duncan McGregor
Filming: Duncan McGregor
Video Editing: Brenda McLean
Original Music: David Swatek
POLYDORUS
Original Work: Hecuba by Euripides
Adapted and Performed: David Breckman
Video Editing: David Breckman
Sound Design and Original Music: David Breckman
Song credit: The Swan from The Carnival of Animals composed by Camille Saint-Saëns and performed by Jacqueline du Pré
HECUBA
Original Work: Hecuba by Euripides
Adapted and Performed: Susan Smiel
Filming and Video Editing: Brenda McLean
Original Music: Rafael Reyes
CASSANDRA
Original Work: Agamemnon by Aeschylus
Adapted, Edited, and Performed: Brenda McLean
Co-Direction and Filming: Eric Bossé
ANTIGONE
Original Work: Antigone by Sophocles
Adapted and Performed: Rebecca Danos
Video Editing: Brenda McLean
Filming and Original Music: Rebecca Danos