The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Theatre and Speech opens its 2008-09 season with the classic Greek comedy, PEACE by Aristophanes. First performed in 421 B.C.E., the play continues to be pertinent and meaningful to audiences in 2008.
PEACE will run September 26, 27 at 7:30 pm; October 1, 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 pm. The September 27th performance will be signed for the hearing impaired. All performances will be held at the Dorothy Hackett Ward Theatre, UTC Fine Arts Center, corner of Vine and Palmetto Streets.
UTC Theatre professor Gaye Jeffers has written an original adaptation of PEACE, complete with a host of Greek gods, a flying beetle and an array of mortals plotting to bring peace back to earth. She was drawn to this ancient text not only because of its timely themes but also because of the comedic elements that find a way to usher in the serious alongside the slapstick.
“The comedies of Aristophanes are ageless in theme as well as style. PEACE is a funny take on an ordinary man’s desire to save the world by traveling to the heavens to have a little talk with the gods,” Jeffers said.
Jeffers says she has enjoyed exploring the rich history of this play and the surprising relevance to our own state of affairs. “Adapting PEACE has allowed us to juxtapose current history-making events with similar events that were occurring when the play was first written,” Jeffers said.
Jeffers, a graduate of the UTC Theatre and Speech Department, returned to Chattanooga last year to accept a position as assistant professor. She will be directing the premiere of her new adaptation of PEACE and is joined by costume designer, Sydney Roberts, lighting designer, John R. Burgess, sound designer, John Moser, and new UTC Theatre faculty member, Steve Ray, who is designing the scenery and props. With a cast of nineteen actors, PEACE promises to be an exciting night of theatre.
Cast members include: Stephen Cau, Savannah Daigle, Jen Erwin, Sam Fort, Ashley Graham, Jamie Harkin, Wanda Harris, Thomas Hawtin, Sean Henon, Laurel Jones, Linda Marston, Britney Naylor, Jared Nipper, Will Park, Daniel Pound, Kenneth Stewart, Emily White, Lauren Williams and UTC faculty member, Patrick Sweetman, as Zeus.
Tickets are on sale for $8 for students and senior citizens, $10 for everyone else. Call the UTC Fine Arts Center box office at 425-4269 for reservations.
For more information please contact Gaye Jeffers in the UTC Theatre Department at 425-4297 or email gaye-jeffers@utc.edu.
