How many chances do you get to see an ancient Greek play performed in an ancient Greek theatre on the outskirts of an ancient Greek city? The typical answer would probably be none, so you can imagine my excitement when Mr. Dr. Kaplan led an adventurous expedition to watch Aristophanes' The Clouds in the Theatre of Epidaurus.
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| Shout out to all my homies from Drama I: you remember filling out these diagrams? |
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| Been there, done that. |
Talk about blast from the past, I felt so smart when Mr. Dr. gave a mini-spiel on the layout of traditional Greek theatre. Thanks, Susan!
The experience itself was unbelievable. It seems so strange to me that they've adapted this historical monument to act as a modern day theatre rather than preserving it's antiquity. Think about it: the people of Epidaurus drive up to this fourth century BC theatre just for funsies, so what was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for me is nothing but a regular practice for them. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that these people pretty much have a time machine in their backyards while the most historical Gainesville gets is the Marjorie Kinnan Rowlings State Park.
One thing I noticed while we were waiting for the play to start was that the Greeks have a very different attitude towards seating arrangements than we do. From what I've seen in America, people generally only sit next to strangers when there's no other option. Wherever there's a giant assembly, be it at a movie theatre or in church pews, we tend to stick to our own group as much as possible. Rather than opting for the "cooties" approach, however, it would seem that the Greeks are less concerned with squeezing in right next to one another.
Granted, most of the time these people were trying to get better seats by pushing their way through. At the same time, though, I feel like if you stole the theatre with the shrink ray from Despicable Me and transported it to the U.S., people would have still gone for the more private seats far away from everyone else. The fact that the exact opposite happened just reiterates the conclusions we've been drawing all semester. From what we've seen, the Greek people value closeness and friendship more than personal interests. They seemed more concerned with scooching in and making room on the outside for newcomers than with maintaining a personal bubble. To be honest, I was a little uncomfortable when a family decided to sit down right next to me, but it's one of those cultural tidbits that you just have to get used to. It actually creates a greater sense of community in the long run, even when you can't understand a word on stage.
Oh, and about that, if you ever do get the chance to see an ancient Greek play performed in an ancient Greek theatre on the outskirts of an ancient Greek city, I highly suggest you bring an English translation...and a flashlight. I borrowed Allison's copy of the play for a little while, but the ever-approaching sunset introduced an unfortunate dilemma. We couldn't understand a word they were saying. Despite our lack of Greek, the very intriguing visuals plus the entertaining audience provided a truly one-of-a-kind experience. I still don't know how there can be so much estrogen congregated in one place without a single woman on stage, and I was a drama kid for four years.
Every time I think I know everything about the Greek culture, it goes and surprises me again. It's so sad that we're leaving this wonderful place in four days when we've experienced so much. After a memorable evening surrounded by good entertainment and great friends, this is Maddie signing off!
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