Gonzaga to Turn Back Clock, Mark Ancient Culture in Festivities for Greek Week Set for March 22-28

C.W. Marshall, associate professor of classics at the University of British Columbia with masks used in classical theatre, Vancouver, B.C., Canada (2006). Marshall will discuss, “The Stagecraft and Performance of ‘Lysistrata,’” at 4:30 p.m., March 26 in the Jepson Center’s Wolff Auditorium, and will provide commentary after the March 26 (7:30 p.m.) performance of “Lysistrata” in the Magnuson Theatre.

‘By Aphrodite and Artemis!’

Gonzaga University will turn back the clock to study and celebrate ancient Greek culture during Greek Week, March 22-28. This collaborative initiative involves four academic departments and includes a production of Aristophanes’ play “Lysistrata,” a free lecture series featuring a top expert in Greek and Roman comedy, and more.

“Lysistrata” is the outrageous 2,400-year-old tale of mighty Greek warriors brought to their knees when their wives swear to withhold their feminine charms until their bellicose husbands agree to make peace. It plays at 7:30 p.m., March 25, 26, 27 and at 2 p.m. March 27- 28 at the Harry and Colleen Magnuson Theatre in College Hall. Tickets are $8 for students, $10 for GU employees, and $12 for everyone else. For information to purchase tickets, which are expected to sell quickly, call (509) 313-6553 or visit the following Web site.

The play is bawdy, funny and ribald with modern insights about the folly of war and struggles between the sexes, but it’s not recommended for children.

The free lecture series, which runs from March 23-27, includes specialists in ancient Greek history and culture from Gonzaga and other universities throughout the Northwest who will shed light on 5th century B.C. Greek society and provide context for Gonzaga’s production of “Lysistrata.” The most well-known expert is University of British Columbia Professor C.W. (Toph) Marshall, who will discuss, “The Stagecraft and Performance of ‘Lysistrata,’” at 4:30 p.m., March 26 in the Jepson Center’s Wolff Auditorium, and will provide commentary after the March 26 (7:30 p.m.) performance of “Lysistrata” in the Magnuson Theatre.

Theatre of Dionysus (modern Athens, Greece). Seating capacity: 17,000. Photo: T. Hines, 2006.

Andrew Goldman, associate professor of history at Gonzaga, chair of the classics department and one of the organizers of Greek Week, said Marshall is among the top experts in Greek and Roman comedy.

“Toph Marshall is currently recognized as one of the top scholars in the world on the topic of ancient comedy. He is an exciting lecturer as well, and his talk is definitely not one to be missed,” Goldman said. As artistic director of Modern Actors Staging Classics, Marshall has produced Greek and Roman plays since he was an undergraduate.

Another highlight will be the free lecture at 4:30 p.m., March 25 by Whitman College Professor Thomas Hines,

Greek Week 2010 at Gonzaga University. Image courtesy of Professor Andrew Goldman.

 “Anatomy of an Ancient Theatre: The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens,” in the Jepson Center’s Wolff Auditorium.
Joining Marshall in the lecture series will be Goldman, who will discuss “The ‘Lysistrata’ and Its Context: Athens, Sparta and the Peloponnesian War”; Whitman College theater Professor Thomas Hines; Reed College classics Professor Nigel Nicholson; University of Utah languages and literature Professor James Svendsen; and GU religious studies Lecturer Ardy Bass. (See full schedule below.)

Greek Week is sponsored by Gonzaga’s classical civilizations department and facilitated by faculty from that department and Gonzaga’s philosophy, religious studies, and theatre arts departments. Greek Week is also supported in part by a grant from Humanities Washington, a state-wide non-profit organization supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the state of Washington, and contributions from individuals and foundations.

A list of Greek Week events is below.

For more information, please contact Andrew Goldman at (509) 313-6691 or via e-mail.

Greek Week Schedule at Gonzaga University March 22-28

MONDAY, MARCH 22

• The Homer-athon: 9 a.m., in the Crosby Student Center. The Gonzaga Latin Club, classics students, faculty and others will spend the day performing an uninterrupted reading of the Homer’s “Odyssey” in the Crosby Student Center. Follow the adventures of brave Odysseus and his followers as they fight monsters, dodge giant whirlpools, and attempt to stay alive as they head home from the Trojan War. Free and open to the public.

 TUESDAY, MARCH 23

• Lecture by Andrew Goldman, associate professor of history and chair of the classics department: “The ‘Lysistrata’ and its Context: Athens, Sparta and the Peloponnesian War,” 4:30 p.m., in the Jepson Center’s Wolff Auditorium. Free and open to the public.

 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24

• Lecture by Ardy Bass, lecturer for Gonzaga’s religious studies department, about women in ancient Greece: “The ‘Desperate Housewives’ of Aristophanes’ ‘Lysistrata’: Women and Social Reality in Athens and Sparta”: 5 p.m., in Jepson Center, Wolff Auditorium. Free and open to the public.

 THURSDAY, MARCH 25

• Lecture by Whitman College Professor Thomas Hines on ancient theater construction and theater in ancient Greece: “Anatomy of an Ancient Theatre: The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens,” at 4:30 p.m., in Jepson Center, Wolff Auditorium. Free and open to the public.
• Aristophanes’ ‘Lysistrata’: 7:30 p.m., with post-production discussion and commentary by Professor Hines, Magnuson Theatre, College Hall.

 FRIDAY, MARCH 26

• “The Stagecraft and Performance of ‘Lysistrata’ “: 4:30 p.m., in Jepson Center, Wolff Auditorium.
• Lecture on Greek drama in the 5th century B.C. by one of the foremost scholars in ancient comedy, Professor C.W. Marshall, University of British Columbia. Free and open to the public.
• Aristophanes’ ‘Lysistrata’: 7:30 p.m., with post-production discussion and commentary by Professor Hines, Magnuson Theatre, College Hall. 

 SATURDAY, MARCH 27

• Student Olympics Competition: 10 a.m., location and other details to be announced. Check the Web site.
• ‘Allowed Fools? Four Models of the Role of Comedy in the Politics of Democratic Athens.’ Noon in Jundt Art Center, Jundt Auditorium (Room 110). This lecture on ancient comedy and Athenian politics will be presented by Reed College Professor Nigel Nicholson. Free and open to the public.
• Aristophanes’ ‘Lysistrata’: 2 p.m., with post-production discussion and commentary by Reed College Professor Nigel Nicholson, in the Magnuson Theatre, College Hall.
• ‘In a Dream of Passion: The Classical Greek Theater Festival’: 4:30 p.m., in Jundt Art Center, Jundt Auditorium (Room 110). Lecture on the modern production of Greek theater by University of Utah Professor James Svendsen. Free and open to the public.
• Aristophanes’ ‘Lysistrata’: 7:30 p.m., in the Magnuson Theatre, College Hall with post-production discussion and commentary by University of Utah Professor James Svendsen.

SUNDAY, MARCH 28

• Aristophanes’ ‘Lysistrata’: 2 p.m., in the Magnuson Theatre, College Hall with post-production discussion and commentary by Gonzaga University religious studies Lecturer Ardy Bass.