The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 6 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on March 12, 2021.
By Ivana Budjarovska ’24
Staff Writer
budjarovskai@mx.lakeforest.edu
Disclaimer! This article is not sponsored by the Theater Department nor any theater troupe on campus. However, I sincerely hope it will be of help to the theater g(r)eeks like me out there.
In the voice of Marilyn Monroe at JFK’s 45th birthday, I sing:
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…
to the infamous deadly virus, COVID-19. This March, it is the first anniversary since COVID-19 was named a pandemic, and I cannot help but look back on foolish me’s thoughts that it would go back to being the same old-same old story in three months or so.
Anyway, a birthday means that an adequate gift should be given, but not necessarily to someone, or something, as vile as this pandemic. So, for COVID-19’s first birthday, I suggest that we all give ourselves a gift and write our 2020s in the form of an ancient Greek tragedy. Listen, I am very aware this sounds weird, but we are all in need of some type of catharsis in order to accept the best and worst moments of such an “interesting” year, so what better way to do so than writing a play in a form that has historically emphasized catharsis greatly?
For that reason, I have included the five basic elements of composing your own, very personal Greek tragedy below. Of course, the tips do not include the element of Oedipus Rex marrying his mother.
1. PROLOGUE
In my language classes, I always learned that the prologue was the most important part of any Greek tragedy, as it gives the basic info needed to understand the play. The prologue reveals the time, place, plot, and characters. You may spice it up by placing yourself anywhere in the world, around people whom you wish you could’ve been with during the start of the pandemic, as well as make yourself much cooler than you already are. Not that you aren’t already cool, since you’re writing a Greek tragedy on your 2020 experience.
2. PARADOS
Now, this is the fun part! Ancient Greek tragedies, like many other ancient forms of theater, contain a part when a chorus enters and explains what type of adventures and events had led the characters to what they are experiencing at the moment. Historically, the chorus has consisted of numbers ranging from 12 to 50 members, so you may pick any stars to sing about you and your closest acquaintances.
3. EPISODE
The episode is the main part of the play when the plot is unveiled, and there is a lot of dialogue between the characters. Now is the time to get wild! You can get your characters to interact with the chorus, say anything, or even make your friends laugh at the stupid joke you told on April 15, 2020. However, despite the episode being the main element of a Greek tragedy, the characters don’t do much apart from chit-chat about the plot.
4. STASIMON
Aaaand the chorus is back again, but now with some feisty comments about the tragedy’s plot. Not really, unless you, as the writer and main character of the play, make them sing about the events in such a way. In the stasimon, the chorus sings about the dialogue that happened in the episode. The moral of the story is that you are in control of this version of 2020, if you couldn’t have been in the actual one.
5. EXODOS
Finally, like other Greek tragedies, yours too must contain a moral to the story. While the one in Oedipus Rex might’ve been to not kill random people in the woods and afterward marry your mom, yours might be a bit less drastic, if you wish. Good luck, and keep me posted on your Greek tragedy!
