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| Aeschylus I |
Athens...
Aeschylus was born in Eleusis, a Greek town near Athens, in 525 B.C. He would turn out to be the first of the
great Greek tragedians, forging a path for both Sophocles and Euripides and has been credited with inventing the "tragic
drama."
Before Aeschylus, plays were primitive and often consisted of a single actor and a chorus that remained onstage
to offer commentary. In his revolutionary works, he added a "second actor" (often more than one) and in the process
created endless new dramatic possibilities. Aeschylus wrote nearly ninety plays; however, only seven have survived to the
modern era. The Oresteia, his most successful trilogy is the only one to survive from Ancient Greece and is considered
by many critics to be the greatest Athenian tragedy ever written.
The tragic events of Agamemnon, the first play of the trilogy, take place against a backdrop that would've
been familiar to an Athenian audience. Tragedies were more than welcomed by Athenians, reflecting the taste and
intellectual climate of mid fifth century Athens. The weight of history and heritage becomes a major theme of the play,
and indeed of the entire trilogy, for the family it depicts cannot escape the cursed cycle of bloodshed from its past.
Aeschylus wrote this victory-winning trilogy in Athens, 458 B.C. His participation
in a loosely organized political
“group” is believed to have influenced his works. His political faction included Pericles, who led Athens to the
height of its political power and its artistic achievement with democracy. Pericles’ group believed in
expanding
the democratic base of citizens, in manifesting Athens’ imperial claims, and in fostering a foreign policy that was
overtly anti-Spartan.
Sparta suffered an embarrassing defeat during an uprising in a nearby city-state. This Spartan failure upset
the balance of power, which Pericles’ group wished to exploit. Argos, a city-state in the heart o f the Peloponnesus,
with a weakened Sparta, extended control over some smaller neighboring cities and in 462, partnered with Athens and Thessaly,
formed an informal alliance. In 461, Argos changed her constitution from aristocratic to democratic. Her assembly, courts,
and other features mimicked those of Athens. In response to the far-reaching democratic reforms, other political groups rebelled, attacking
the reforms. Ephialtes, the original leader of this quasi-democratic faction, was assassinated and his position was taken
over by Pericles.
An interesting question to ask would be whether or not these events had any influence on Aeschylus’ decision
to write the story? Even more interesting was his choice to move the locale of the entire story from Mycenae to
Argos!
Meets America...
Corey Allen has always been interested in Greek mythology and the richness of Greek culture. From an early
age he was fascinated by the stories of ancient gods, heroes and monsters. In grade school, he wrote various
stories in which he incorporated the folklorish nature of Greece's greatest myths.
Growing up, in the eighties, in the USA proved to be even more influential on the young man. Films like George
Lucas' Star Wars trilogy and the imaginative worlds brought to the silver screen by Steven Spielberg inspired
Corey to think outside the box and to pursue his first love: Acting. The theater was a place he wanted to be and seeing
the success of others reminded him just how badly he wanted it too!
Fast-forwarding to adulthood, Corey brought this passion and enthusiasm to the table, diving head-first
into studying the basics to be a successful actor. After college, he found early success and was taking the steps
to create the career of his dreams; but underneath it all, felt something was missing. Upon his move to New York City, he
sought to bring that "something" out. What followed was an exciting revelation: he had a desire to write and more
than that: he had a voice!
His first play aciremA: Interrogation of a Nation awoke him to the possibilities of playwrighting and set
him on the path. He began reading all of the older texts and once again was drawn to the powerful stories and poetic narratives of
the Greeks. He took a special interest in the plays of Aeschylus and Euripides, while gaining a new appreciation
for Homer and Aristotle. This proved to be an artistic love affair, with Corey becoming so interested in the ancient
world that he decided to visit Greece!
The journey turned out to be more of a pilgrimage than a vacation. Although overseas during the American-led
war against Iraq, with international tensions rising, Corey felt immediately at home as he travelled from Athens through
Delphi, Olympia, Vases, Napflio, Sparta, Argos, Corinth and the Greek isles. Before he knew it, he found himself
in Mycenae, at the palatial fortress of Agamemnon, himself! As they say, the rest was history. Fuelled by his newfound
love for the country and the overwhelming pull he felt to the archeological remains of Mycenae, Corey
set out to recreate the engaging story of Mycenae's past, blending a traditional Greek narrative like
the one used by Aeschylus, with devices borrowed from contemporary American storytelling.
After nine months of research and exploration, Corey successfully completed the first draft of Agamemnon, the first
of the three-play cycle he plans to adapt. Agamemnon was produced as a staged reading in New York City
in early May 2005. It performed to a packed house. Following the success of the reading, Corey returned
to text and after months of editing has reemerged with a leaner draft of the epic piece, now renamed Clytemnestra.
As he prepares to put up a second reading of Clytemnestra and begins planning Bearers of Libation: The
Heirs of Atride, the second installment of the trilogy, Corey has clearly taken the first steps
of his journey on the road to Mycenae...
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