Auditions
The Bacchae
Directed by Kaici Lore (kaicishae@gmail.com)
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Audition Dates:
Friday, June 5 - 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, June 6 - 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. Please check your calendars before auditioning to be sure you are available. Production date changes will not occur. Performance Dates: September 13-15, 19-21 Characters:
ROLES TO BE CAST: The Bacchae Chorus (9 females) Teiresias, a blind seer Cadmus, former king of Thebes Pentheus, his grandson and present king A guard Two Herdsmen Two Messengers Agave, daughter of Cadmus and mother of Pentheus |
The Bacchae, also known as “The Bacchantes” (Gr: “Bakchai”), is a late tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, and it is considered one of his best works and one of the greatest of all Greek tragedies. Most likely written as early as around 410 BCE, it only premiered posthumously at the City Dionysia festival of 405 BCE, where it won first prize. The story is based on the myth of King Pentheus of Thebes and his mother Agave, who are punished by the god Dionysus (also known to the Greeks as Bacchus) for refusing to worship him.
In retaliation, Dionysia drives the women of Thebes, into an ecstatic frenzy, sending them dancing and hunting on Mount Cithaeron. The old men of the city, like Semele‘s father Cadmus and the old blind seer Tiresias, although not themselves under the same spell as the Theban women, have nevertheless become enthusiastic devotees of the Bacchic rituals. |
