SITI Company Performs Persians by Aeschylus in Villa Outdoor Classical Theater Production

Directed by Anne Bogart and translated by Aaron Poochigian

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Jul 01, 2014

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The J. Paul Getty Museum announces Persians by Aeschylus, the ninth annual outdoor theatrical production in the Getty Villa’s Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater.

New York-based SITI Company, one of America’s leading ensemble theater companies, will return to the Getty Villa this fall to perform the dramatic story of war, victory, and loss experienced by the Persian court. Directed by the company’s co-artistic director Anne Bogart, the play features a new translation by Aaron Poochigian and sound design by Tony Award winner Darron L. West.

“In approaching Persians, we are attempting to chart nothing less than the birth of drama, the proverbial big bang of the theater, from procession and ritual celebration to acts of fictional embodiment of events and relationships,” says Anne Bogart.

First produced in 472 B.C., Persians is the sole surviving Greek tragedy about a historical event. Bringing to life the Persians’ defeat by the Greeks in 480 B.C. in the naval battle at Salamis, Aeschylus glorifies the Athenian victors but also humanizes the defeated Persians, emphasizing the universal impact of war on family and community.

Bogart continues, “As a company, we are attracted to the play not only for its historical significance and for its remarkable embodiment of a Greek society imagining the grief and sorrow of their recently defeated enemy the Persians, but we are also drawn to the fact that the protagonist of the play may, in fact, be the chorus.”

The cast includes SITI Company members Ellen Lauren as Queen Attossa, Stephen Duff Webber as King Darius, Gian-Murray Gianino as Xerxes, and Will Bond as the messenger, with Akiko Aizawa, J. Ed Araiza, Eric Berryman, , Leon Ingulsrud, and Emily Spalding as the Chorus.

“We are thrilled to have SITI Company, an extraordinarily innovative theater ensemble, return to the Getty Villa to perform this year’s outdoor classical theater production,” says Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “In ancient Greece, theater was a fundamental component of religious and social life, and as our theater program at the Getty Villa demonstrates, Classical drama still connects strongly with contemporary playwrights, actors, and audiences.”

Over the past five years, SITI Company has been in residence at the Getty Villa delighting and challenging audiences with re-visions of Antigone, Trojan Women, The Bacchae, and Ion.

Performances of Persians by Aeschylus will be held Thursdays through Saturdays, September 4—27, 2014, with previews from August 28—30. Tickets for Thursday night performances are $40.00 ($36.00 for students and seniors), Friday night performances are $42, and Saturday night performances are $45. Student and senior discounts available for Thursday night performances only. Ticket prices for the previews are $25. Tickets are available at (310) 440-7300 or www.getty.edu.

Image: Anne Bogart, Artistic Director of SITI Company

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