Important Note About the Aesthetic

Our production of Oedipus the Tyrant is not set in a specific place or time. Though the play mentions locations like Corinth and Thebes, specific to ancient Greece, our translation is taking creative liberties by redefining our landscape. We've mentioned several times now how the story of Oedipus is timeless and it's themes universal. While some theatre artists produce renditions of classic plays only to honor how it was done "originally," many emerging and scholarly artists are of the opinion that this practice is outdated.* Thus, we are taking Oedipus by the balls (or eyes) and putting our own spin on it.

The design aesthetic of Oedipus the Tyrant is an eastern fusion. Initially, butoh is how Natasha wanted to represent the chorus. From there, we began to explore other characters, namely the the title role. We realized that the silhouette Natasha wants Oedipus to have is that of an Indian groom. Then, Taylor and I branched out and assigned characters to different general surrounding regions. Also, our director envisioned all of the characters in white with varied accent colors. For example, all of the characters from Thebes may have differently designed costumes, but they will be loosely connected by the same color pallet. Characters from different regions hail from different parts of Asia and have different accented colors.

In the following blog posts, you'll see our rhyme and reason as to why we chose what we chose and I've provided image research as examples of how we see it. Nothing is set in stone, we're just trying to all get on the same page. In order to tie everything together, all costumes will be very toned down (compared to the gorgeously ornate outfits you'll in the pictures); none of the costumes we envision for our production will be as detailed or specific. For this reason, we've taken a liking to the phrase "silhouette" in order to describe a look.

NOTE: A similar and concise version of this post will be included in the program as a "Dramaturg's note" so that the audience is informed about our design aesthetic before the show even begins. This is not something they need to worry about or try to define. I'll explain it so they can just enjoy the show!

*Orgel's The Authentic Shakespeare is an invigorating read on this subject.

The foundation

I thought it was worth noting some key terms Natasha kept returning to in order to set the mood as we embark on this new translation. I wrote it in a poem form so it's visually pleasing. Note: do not be tricked, it's not a poem.

Elegant

Simple

Eastern fusion

Visually engrossing, in a contained atmosphere

Earth tones, but not dirty

Bones and dust

Internal rot

Decay

When I asked Natasha, why Oedipus?

Grand operatic themes. Somehow through thousands of years this thing remains shocking – we need to put our stamp on it

Most vivid imagery from our talk:

Old shepard – "decrepit in fruit box on wheels"

Greek chorus = Butoh

Natasha mentioned early on in this process that she wanted the Greek chorus to be modeled after Japanese butoh. So... what the hell is butoh?

First off, butoh is a collective term for a diverse range activities. That being said, it is most commonly identified as a contemporary Japanese dance form. It combines dance, theater, improvisation and influences of Japanese traditional performing arts with German Expressionist dance (Neue Tanz) and performance art to create a unique performance art form. Butoh is controversial because it often deals with grotesque imagery, taboo topics, and extreme and absurd environments. Traditionally, it's performed in white body make-up and with slow hyper-controlled motion, with or without an audience. There is no set style, and it may be purely conceptual with no movement at all.

After talking with Taylor, our choreographer, she expressed veering away from butoh as grotesque or disgusting, and instead will be melding butoh into Oedipus as a means of fate. What she described almost sounded like puppetry. Taylor described watching the movements of butoh as if the dancers were being motivated and manipulated by something outside their own bodies. It fits so perfectly into the story of Oedipus because the butoh chorus will be able to visually demonstrate what it looks like to be lead by your own fate, possibly even against your will. This fascinated me!! This is going to be so unique; I'm looking forward to rehearsals!

Pictures to follow.