Flatt Amphitheater is being transformed into the Greek land of Corinth as Lipscomb University’s theatre department presents the tragic story of Medea.
The story revolves around Jason, leader of the Argonauts, and Medea, Princess of Colchis. They meet in Colchis where Jason is on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Medea helps Jason get the Fleece and in the process, they fall in love and decide to flee to Corinth. They then get married and have two children.
Over in Corinth, King Creon is looking for a successor to the throne and invites Jason to marry his daughter. Jason obliges in blatant disregard to Medea and his kids.
The play begins with Medea finding out about the marriage. She becomes so flustered and angry that she decides to plot a deadly revenge against Jason. The plot is to first kill the king and his daughter, Jason’s new wife, then kill her own children to bring Jason great pain and suffering.
Unlike most main-stage shows on campus, Medea is student-led with Tessa Bryant, a senior theatre major, sitting in the director’s chair for her first time. She is not only focused on doing her job well, but also making sure the rest of the cast and crew learn something from the production.
“The goal for me with this piece is to start a dialogue about how we can care for one another better by acknowledging our own brokenness, considering one another in our actions and forgiving ourselves and others” Bryant said. “I’ve really loved working in an environment that encourages exploration. That isn’t always the case working in theatre, and we, as students, are really lucky to have an education like this.”
Will Miranne and Scout Pittman, the student actors playing Jason and Medea respectively, found their roles incredibly challenging. However, as they explain, it is often the more challenging roles that provide the best reward.
“Jason has definitely been a difficult role to step into, that’s for sure” Miranne said. “With any character you always strive to bring them to life via your own self. You have to fully take them on as your own, and with Jason that was really a pleasure. It was exciting, new and quite difficult most of the time.”
“The experience has been incredibly rewarding, but also exhausting,” Pittman said. “She is such a complex character and definitely the most difficult role I have ever taken on. I’ve also had so much fun playing her. She’s so intelligent and calculating, while at the same time very passionate and emotional.”
Medea runs Sept. 19-21, and Sept. 26-28. Every show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Flatt Amphitheater to the right of the student center.
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