Homer’s epic tale of love, battle, and honor has never been more engaging than in this tour-deforce solo performance. Adapted from Robert Fagles’ revelatory and fresh translation of The
Iliad, this play takes us on a sweeping and unforgettable journey through the Trojan War. This
fierce and timeless story, starring two-time Tony Award®-winner Stephen Spinella, is
absolutely not-to-be-missed!
Glossary of Major Characters in The Iliad
Greek Gods
Zeus
King of the Greek gods, husband of Hera. He is known for his erotic escapades; his
illegitimate children include Helen, Athena, Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, Persephone,
Dionysus, Helen, and the Muses. By Hera, he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe,
and Hephaestus.
Hera
Goddess of women and fertility, wife (and sister) of Zeus. Hera is often jealous and
vengeful of his lovers. She hates the Trojans, especially Paris, and sides with the Greeks.
Athena
Greek virgin goddess of war (the discipline and art, as opposed to Ares, the violence and
bloodlust), wisdom, and truth, patron goddess of Athens. She is thought to be the
daughter of only Zeus, and to have sprung from his head full-grown and in full armor.
She dislikes useless violence and prefers to use wisdom and compromise to solve
conflict. She sides with the Greeks
Aphrodite
Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality, as well as the unhappy and unfaithful wife
of Hephaestus. She was created from the sea foam (aphros) that appeared when Cronus
cut off Uranus’ genitals and threw them into the sea. She takes many lovers, especially
Ares, god of war. She is especially fond of Paris, who declared her the most beautiful
goddess, and sides with the Trojans.
Apollo
God of the sun, medicine, archery, and the arts. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and
has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. He is best known for driving his sun
chariot across the sky each day. He supports the Trojans in the war and often interferes
on their behalf.
Ares
Ruthless god of war/ slaughter, courage, masculinity, and brother of Athena. Loves war
itself, and is also associated with the ransacking of villages. Sometimes fights for Hector.
Hephaestus
God of smiths and metal working; husband of unfaithful Aphrodite. Son of Zeus and
Hera; one account of his birth is that Hera, angry at Zeus’ infidelity, gave birth to
Hephaestus by herself. By all accounts of his story, he is lame, but the cause varies (e.g.,
Hera enraged at his already grotesque body, hurls him from Olympus and he is
permanently maimed by the fall; or Zeus flung him from Olympus for coming to his
mother Hera’s rescue). In any case, he was raised by Thetis (mother of Achilles), and he
crafts Achilles’ brilliant armor.
Hermes
God described as a guide and giant-killer, son of Zeus. He is Zeus’ messenger–swift,
shrewd, and cunning. Escorts Priam when he goes to ask Achilles for Hector’s body.
Poseidon
God of the sea and younger brother of Zeus. Though he primarily interferes on the side
of the Greeks, he backs down at Zeus’ behest and even steps in to save the Trojan
Aeneas, who he knows is destined to be King of Troy.
Thetis
A sea goddess and the mother of Achilles. Zeus fell in love with her, but could not marry
her due to a prophesy (her son is destined to be greater than his father) so he set her up
with the mortal Peleus. She took care of Hephaestus when he was thrown from
Olympus, and goes to him to ask him to make armor for Achilles.
Greeks (Achaens)
Achilles
Son of Peleus and Thetis, commander of the Myrmidons, Achaen allies. He is the
champion of the Greeks, but his rage is the source of much of the conflict in The Iliad. It
was prophesized that Achilles would lead either a short, glorious life or a long, dull one.
Agamemnon
King of Mycenae, husband of Clytemenestra, brother to Menelaus, supreme
commander of all Achaea’s armies. The conflict of The Iliad begins when he angers
Apollo (who sends a plague to Achaea) by taking the daughter of one of his priests.
When she is returned, on Achilles’ suggestion, Agamemnon insists on taking Achilles’
prize, Briseis, for his own.
Atreus
Father of Menelaus and Agamemnon.
Briseis
Captive and lover of Achilles. She is taken by Agamemnon when he is forced to give up
Chryseis, causing Achilles to fly into a rage and refuse to take part in the fighting.
Diomedes
King of Argos. Along with Great Ajax, one of the strongest fighters for Achaea.
Great Ajax
Commander of the contingent from Salamis. A champion for the Achaean army second
only to Achilles.
Helen
The daughter of Zeus and the wife of Menelaus. The Trojan War begins when Paris
abducts her from Sparta after Aphrodite has promised her as a gift. In The Iliad she is
self-loathing and regretful.
Menelaus
King of Mycenian Sparta, husband of Helen (stolen by Paris of Troy). Brother of
Agamemnon, who is the king of Mycenae.
Menoetius
Father of Patroclus.
Nestor
A former Argonaut. He is old at the time of the Trojan War, in which his sons fight. He
offers counsel to Agamemnon and Achilles, and leads troops, but does not fight himself.
He is the oldest of all the chieftains.
Odysseus
King of Ithaca and protagonist of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Odysseus is known
for his cunning; the Trojan Horse is his idea.
Patroclus
Achilles’ best friend who borrows his armor to fight in the war when Achilles will not. His
death, at Hector’s hand, inspires Achilles to return to battle.
Peleus
Father of Achilles. His first marriage is to Antigone. When she commits suicide over false
rumors of his infidelity, Peleus marries sea nymph Thetis, with whom he has Achilles.
Thetis and Peleus become immortals by some accounts, by others, she abandons him.
Trojans (Dardans)
Aeneus
Son of Anchises and Aphrodite; favorite of Apollo. When Aeneus fights for the Trojans in
the Trojan War, his mother Aphrodite often comes to his rescue (though he is a good
soldier).
Andromache
Hector’s wife. She asks him not to return to war on his brief visit home.
Anchises
Aphrodite’s mortal lover, with whom she fathered Aeneus. Anchises brags about being
the lover of Aphrodite and Zeus strikes him with a thunderbolt. Aeneus saves his father
by carrying him on his back and fleeing from the fires at the end of Trojan War.
Astyanax
Hector’s baby son, eventually killed at the hands of the Greeks.
Cassandra
Daughter of Priam. Apollo loved her and made her a prophet. When she rejected him he
cursed this gift, and no one believes her visions. She is very beautiful and is the first to
see Priam returning to Troy with Hector’s body.
Hector
Priam’s oldest son, Paris’s brother and Troy’s supreme commander. He kills Patroclus
which spurs Achilles to return to war.
Hecuba
Priam’s wife and Hector’s mother.
Paris
Son of Priam and younger brother of Hector. A colossal coward. Legend has it that at the
wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Eris, a troublemaking god who was not invited, threw an
apple into the party for “the most beautiful woman” there; Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite
all claimed it. The women asked Zeus to decide, but wanting nothing to do with the
decision, Zeus passed the task along to Paris. All the goddesses offered Paris gifts, but he
chose Aphrodite who promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world,
Helen. When Paris stole Helen from her husband Menelaus it began the Trojan War.
Paris later kills the great warrior Achilles, by shooting an arrow through his heel from
behind.
Priam
King of Troy, father of Hector and Paris. He goes to Achilles himself to request the body
of Hector.
Homer: The Iliad’s First Storyteller
By Emilia LaPenta
Homer’s name conjures images of a blind poet, wandering through ancient Greece,
reciting his two brilliant epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. But more than a person,
Homer is an idea. The historical figure is a mystery to us—other than the poems, there is little
evidence to support his existence and contradictions abound. Scholars have argued that many
people were actually involved in writing The Iliad and The Odyssey. Some suggest Homer might
have been a woman. He may have lived not long after the events of the Trojan War (1250-1240
B.C.E.), but others place him much later, in the eighth or seventh century B.C.E.
Whoever he (or she or they) was, the spirit of Homer was part of the ancient Greek oral
tradition: bards, usually blind, traveled from town to town, performing in public places and in
royal courts. Stories were passed on for generations and memorized with the aid of a specific,
repetitive structure. Improvisations around familiar story lines were common. In this way, he is
also part of the tradition of storytellers, one that crosses cultures and endures throughout
history. Homer, wrote Alexander Pope, “makes us hearers,” and his poems, read or performed,
reveal the humanity behind often graphic war stories. His champions are not indestructible and
his gods are not infallible. These achievements have had significant historical and philosophical
impacts on the ancient Greeks and the contemporary world.
Homer’s The Iliad was a pivotal part of classical education, as one of the masterpieces
from the glorious days of Ancient Greece. Students at the Library of Alexandria in the third and
second century verified, edited, and divided Homer’s work, creating documents that saved his
texts from age and ruin. The Romans also embraced Homer thanks to Virgil who modeled the
famous Aeneid on Homer’s poems. Prominent figures from Goethe, to Nietzsche, to Edgar Allen
Poe were inspired and entranced by the epic poems in many facets: as a piece of art, an
historical document, and as a product of ancient Greek culture. The story of war, and our
complicated relationship to it, has proven to be one of the most timeless subjects of life and art
and Homer, the proclaimed author of the ultimate war epic, a figure of mythic proportions.
Summary of Action Leading Up to the Trojan War
According to the popular myth, the Trojan War began when Paris, a prince of Troy, was
made to judge which of three Greek goddesses, Athena, Hera, or Aphrodite, was the most
beautiful. He awarded the prize to Aphrodite, and was rewarded with the hand of Helen, the
most beautiful woman in the world.
Unfortunately, Helen was already married to the Greek king Menelaus. This didn’t stop
Paris from kidnapping Helen and taking her to Troy as his wife, an act that prompted Greek
forces under the command of Menelaus’ brother, Agamemnon, to declare war on Troy.
But before the battle could be joined, the Greek army had to get to Troy, a task that
required the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter to appease the gods.
The arrival of the Greek army marked the beginning of a ten-year siege that finally ended in the
sacking and burning of Troy.
reprinted with permission from Seattle Repertory Theatre publications
Storytelling through the Ages
By Kathleen Burke and Emilia LaPenta
From caves and campfires to halls of great kings and modern theaters, humans have
told stories. Many of these stories are entertaining, but also practical. Some stories serve as
historical accounts; others were used to cope with the unknown. While the mediums
throughout the ages have changed, we have always had a need to record the touchstones of
our cultures.
Troubadours and Traveling Troupes
In medieval Europe, minstrels (also called troubadours or bards) toured the land
performing in inns, churches, courts, or wherever they could find an audience. They sang songs
of war, love, heroism, and holiness, and became so popular that kings, lords and even bishops
sought to have minstrels as part of their court. When a stronger written tradition emerged,
these traveling performers became “the fool” of popular literature. In Italy, a tradition of
traveling theater troupes performing as stock characters came to be known as commedia
dell’arte, which was largely improvised. Commedia dell’arte is still practiced today, and the
legends of the minstrel live on in today’s folk and music artists.
Griots
Griots are West African bards and are still an important part of many African
communities. Some of a griot’s many roles include poet, praise-singer, and historian. Griots are
often trusted with the important stories of a community, and hired to perform them on special
occasions. Modern hip-hop culture is partly influenced by this traditional African occupation
(see below).
Biwa-hōshi
In Japan before the early nineteenth century there were figures similar to the griot in
Africa and the bard of Homer’s time called biwa- hōshi. The biwa- hōshi were itinerant
musicians who primarily sang epic narratives about the samurai. They were usually blind and
believed to be prophetic, an idea shared by the ancient Greeks (the blind can “see” another
level of truth).
Native American Storytelling
Native Americans use stories to pass on the traditions of their culture. For the Cherokee
of North Carolina, storytelling is a sacred ritual; before hearing one of the sacred stories, the
listener needs to visit the medicine man to be fully prepared. The Sioux often tell stories of the
relationship between humans and creation, to deepen respect of the native land.
Early American Tall Tales
Some of what we know about early United States leaders and famous figures is oral
tradition; did, or did not, George Washington cut down the cherry tree? Folk tales and tall tales
began around a fire where lumberjacks and other Americans gathered to share stories of Paul
Bunyan and Pecos Bill. Such characters from “fakelore” capture the expansionist spirit of the
time.
Hip-Hop: Storytelling Rap
Hip-Hop is a subculture that was born in the United States and has roots in the African
griot and the Jamaican dee-jay. Both traditions involve talking or chanting over some sort of
musical accompaniment or rhythm. One of the most popular musical movements in the hip-hop
culture is storytelling rap. Many storyteller rappers employ numerous literary techniques–from
similes to double entendres–to make their work more nuanced and complex.
Today’s Media
Today, storytelling has come to take on a more personal, intimate form. People have
begun to explore how their own journey fits into the fabric of culture through one-person
shows, You-Tube videos, innovative podcasts like This American Life, and even the philosophical
musings of a Facebook status. Solo performers like Nilaja Sun, Danny Hoch, and Sarah Jones
continue the age-old tradition of theater written and performed by the individual for the
community. Storytellers everywhere have access to media that allows them to tell their own
story to an even broader audience.
An Iliad rides to McCarter on the age-old wave of storytelling. The lone man imparting
the tales of Achilles and Hector hearkens back to the minstrels singing songs of heroism and
hard-won love, while An Iliad’s sly references to modern war give it the feel of a contemporary
political blogger. An Iliad demonstrates that stories don’t fade with the fashions; this war story
resonates as strongly as it did for the Greeks.
A “Cast of One”: The History, Art and Nature
of the One-Person Show
by Paula T. Alekson
In the world of the theatre, the one-man show is perhaps the closest thing to having it all, a
supreme test of assurance and ability, of magnetism and charisma. The format is both seductive
and frightening; there’s no one to play against, to lean on, to share the criticism. But, for an
actor, the prize at the end of a successful solo performance in not only applause but also
acclaim—unshared.
— Enid Nemy, from “Four for the Season,
Alone in the Spotlight", New York Times (October 5, 1984)
The American one-person show found its roots in the “platform performances” of the
late-nineteenth century, in which authors, public speakers, and actors “masquerading” as
professional elocutionists gave readings or recitations from published works of literature to
polite audiences for their cultivation and edification. These events were purposely held in nontheatrical venues as a way to distinguish them from theater entertainments (such as
vaudeville), which, due to the long history of antitheatrical prejudice (i.e., a bias against or
hostility toward the theater and those associated with it) were still regarded as immoral
amusements created by sinful and degenerate individuals. The lecture, Lyceum, and
Chautauqua circuits featured American platform personalities such as Edgar Allen Poe, Henry
David Thoreau, Alexander Graham Bell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Daniel Webster, Anna Cora
Mowatt and Charlotte Cushman. When Charles Dickens toured both Great Britain and America
reading excerpts from his various works, he caused a sensation by embodying his numerous
and diverse characters as he read. Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) spent much of his nonwriting career appearing on the platform as lecturer and humorist, and he perfected a
presentational technique which transformed his literature into performance texts. Lectures and
readings eventually metamorphosed into one-person performances on the platform circuit as
the focus of the performative material turned from literature to character sketches and
monologues written expressly for performance. Eventually one-person showpieces began to
appear on both the vaudeville and the legitimate stages, and sketches and monologues gave
way to monodramas, or one-character plays. A surge in the number of one-person shows
occurred in the American theater in the 1950’s and has never really decreased, owing not only
to the popularity of the form, but also to its economical nature—a cast of one and, quite often,
no set!
One-person shows—or solo performances, as they are often called—of the latetwentieth century to the present are largely artistic vehicles designed to display actor virtuosity
and stamina, to highlight an actor’s ability of impersonation (of either one character or a variety
of characters), to present a theater-going audience to a larger-than-life historical (or sometimes
living) figure, and/or as a means of intimate autobiographical exploration and expression.
There are two modes for one-person shows: monologue and monopolylogue. A
monologue features a single character speaking to a silent or unheard listener (most often the
audience, who may be ignored or treated as observer, guest, confidant, or as a specific
character). A monopolylogue features multiple characters, all performed by one actor; some
monopolylogues feature dialogue in which the various characters talk to or converse with one
another.
There are many types of one-person shows, and some defy clear classification. The most
straightforward forms are biographical or autobiographical in nature. A biographical oneperson play involves an actor directly impersonating or presenting his or her interpretation of
the essence of a living or historical personage. Examples of this form are Mark Twain Tonight!
written and performed by Hal Holbrook, William Luce’s portrait of Emily Dickinson, entitled The
Belle of Amherst, which was originally performed by Julie Harris; Golda’s Balcony, in which
Tovah Feldshuh first created William Gibson’s dramatic depiction of Golda Meir; and Doug
Wright’s I Am My Own Wife in which Jefferson Mays created the role of Charlotte von
Mahlsdorf and thirty-four other characters with whom she interacts (including the
playwright). In an autobiographical one-person play, a writer/performer appears as him or
herself and tells sometimes extremely intimate stories about his or her own life. Spalding Gray’s
Swimming to Cambodia, Lisa Kron’s 2.5 Minute Ride, and Martin Moran’s The Tricky Part are
representative of this form.
Many contemporary solo performance pieces defy broad and clear categorization. For
example, Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, utilize
documentary material, such as personally recorded interviews and archival video recordings of
public and private persons, which Smith weaves into a tapestry of monologues to tell the
stories of and comment upon two dramatically explosive socio-historical events. Jane Wagner’s
The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe, written for and performed by Lily Tomlin, at first
glance seems to be a series of largely unconnected, self-contained, whimsical character
monologues, but the play slowly reveals itself as a satirical critique and outline of the Women’s
Movement in the latter half of the twentieth century. Monopolyloguist Nilaja Sun’s No Child…
draws from the playwright-performer’s true-to-life experience as a teaching artist in the Bronx
to present a monodrama of Sun’s attempts to mount a production of Our Country’s Good with
a group of disaffected high school students. In one scene of the play, Sun embodies at least
seven characters in an amazingly animated conversation between a classroom of students, Sun,
and their teacher.
Regardless of their mode or form, one-person shows give the solo performer power,
control, and complete responsibility over the work in performance. For the artist who is both
writer and performer, there is absolute artistic freedom in the creative process and
performance of his or her work. Perhaps one of the greatest reliefs for the solo actor is that he
or she doesn’t have anyone depending upon him or her in the midst of a live performance, but
therein lies the challenge, as he or she has no one but him or herself to depend upon—it is just
the actor and the audience. It is a risky and exhilarating proposition for both sides of the
theatrical equation.
An Iliad Resource Guide
Bibliography/Additional Sources
Dalby, Andrew. Rediscovering Homer. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1942.
Hedges, Chris. War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning. New York: Anchor Books, 2002.
Kershaw, Stephen P. The Greek Myths. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2007.
Knox, Bernard. “Introduction.” The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. London: Penguin Books, 1990.
McCarty, Nick. Troy. London: Carlton, 2004.
Manguel, Alberto. Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey: A Biography. London: Atlantic Books,
2007.
O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990.
Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. New York: New American Library, 1985.
Other Translations of The Iliad
Fitzgerald, Robert. The Iliad. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Lombardo, Stanley. The Iliad. Hackett Publishing Company, 1997.
Storytelling
http://www.rps.psu.edu/0205/keepers.html
http://www.theatrehistory.com/medieval/minstrels001.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/hientertain.html
http://www.themiddleages.net/people_middle_ages.html
http://www.commedia-dell-arte.com/
http://www.dellarte.com/dellarte.aspx?id=257
http://www.pbs.org/circleofstories/index.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/storytelling/cherokee.html
http://www.ancientnative.org/amd.php
Emily Mann on An Iliad
Dear Patrons,
It gives me enormous pleasure to welcome you to An
Iliad.
Many of you are familiar with Homer’s The Iliad as a
great work of literature, a book you read perhaps in
high school or college. But this isn’t how Homer
originally intended his epic story of the Trojan War to
be received. A poet and storyteller who lived in
ancient Greece, Homer performed his epic poems of
heroes, history and myth. Decades before The Iliad
was written down, Homer performed it for his
audiences, captivating them for days as he recounted
the tale of the Trojan War.
When I first heard that Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare were writing a stage version of The Iliad
meant to be performed by one storyteller, I was immediately intrigued. What better way to
experience this thrilling tale than in its original form? And when I discovered that the stage
adaptation was based on the world-renowned translation by Robert Fagles, I knew we had to
produce it here at McCarter. In addition to being a noted Princeton professor and celebrated,
award-winning translator, Robert Fagles was a very dear friend and it is a great pleasure to
honor his remarkable translation through this production.
Homer’s work celebrates heroism and honor, but it also exposes the brutality and folly of war.
In An Iliad, Peterson and O’Hare connect the ancient past to the immediate present, drawing a
direct line from Achilles and his men to the soldiers fighting in conflict zones around the world
today. Just as the Greeks, on hearing Homer’s words, prayed for their soldiers’ safe return, so
we pray for our own today. As long as man makes war, Homer’s poetry will ring with
undeniable truth.
Story for the Ages:
An Iliad director Lisa Peterson shares why
now is the best time to revisit the Trojan War
By Ian Chant
In books, on film, and now on the stage, the story of the Trojan War has been
experiencing a renaissance in recent years. But what is it about a war that occurred thousands
of years ago that remains so resonant today? An Iliad director Lisa Peterson supposes that
there’s never really a wrong time to take a new look at the world’s oldest war story.
“Somewhere in the world, people are always at war,” says Peterson.
However, some times are more right than others to revisit the infamous conflict—
particularly as it’s told through Homer’s classic tale, The Iliad. “This particular moment, I think,
is unique,” Peterson says. “The Iliad begins nine years into a war that may have lost its
underlying meaning.” It’s a situation that mirrors what many see in the current American
military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the midst of the second Iraq war, Peterson found her own interest in dramatic
responses to war sparked anew. As she was researching the topic and discussing it with
colleagues, a friend made the argument that The Iliad was not a poem but a dramatic work. “It
was a remnant of the oral tradition, it was an out-loud story; it was never intended to be
something that you just read on paper. And I was really interested in that,” says Peterson. “I
had studied The Iliad in college, but… I had never thought of it as a play, and I don’t think most
people do.”
Peterson was also intrigued by the opportunity to put a unique theatrical spin on a
literary classic. After taking a long hiatus from helming the adaptations that marked her early
career as a director, she was eager to return to adapting work, though not in a traditional
manner. “I wanted to work on something as an adapter, and I was really interested in working
directly with an actor instead of with a writer,” Peterson says. “I was interested in the idea of
Homer as a traveling storyteller, as opposed to someone who sits and writes, and so it made
more sense to go to an actor friend.”
Peterson began collaborating on the work with friend and performer Denis O’Hare,
initiating a multi-year process. Last spring, An Iliad premiered at Seattle Rep. While their
original idea was an improvisational piece that would change slightly with every performance,
“It did end up getting written down and codified…and now it is a script, but we are still trying to
capture that sensation that he’s making it up on the spot,” Peterson says. “We’re trying to
create the kind of feeling that might have been in the room thousands of years ago when
Homer was telling the story.”
Instilling that sense of awe at the spoken word in a modern audience is no small order.
Peterson and O’Hare’s adaptation emphasizes the wide-ranging appeal of the tale and of
storytelling, making An Iliad a bridge of sorts between the ancient and the modern. “We are
imagining that our poet…has been around for millennia. He was there during the war, and he is
doomed to walk the earth and tell his story. And over the years, he has adapted, always, to be
wherever he happens to be.”
As the development process on An Iliad moves ahead, the original continues to surprise
Peterson. “Almost every day I find something…that I feel like I’ve never read,” Peterson says.
But not every surprise can be brought to the stage. In crafting a 90-minute one-person show
from an epic poem, choosing what aspects of the story to explore can be difficult. Ultimately,
An Iliad focuses on exploring the source material’s meditations on the nature of war. “We dug
until we found the core of the story,” Peterson says, “and for us that core is the conflict
between two great warriors, Hector and Achilles.”
Originally Published in Seattle Repertory Theatre Magazine, reprinted with permission.
Who’s Who
Stephen Spinella (Poet)
Broadway: Spring Awakening, Our Town, James Joyce’s The Dead
(Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Award, Tony Nomination), Electra,
A View from the Bridge, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches
(Tony and Drama Desk Awards, Featured Actor), Angels in America:
Perestroika (Tony and Drama Desk Awards, Leading Actor). OffBroadway: Svejk (TFANA), The Seagull (NYSF in the park, with Meryl
Streep), Elle, A Question of Mercy (NY Theatre Workshop), Troilus and
Cressida (NYSF in the park, Bayfield Award), Love! Valour!
Compassion! (Manhattan Theatre Club, Obie Award), The Illusion (NY Theatre Workshop).
Regional: The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism with a Key to the
Scriptures (The Guthrie Theatre), Stuff Happens (Mark Taper Forum), Travesties
(Williamstown), Electra (McCarter Theatre). Film: And the Band Played On, Faithful, Virtuosity,
Love! Valour! Compassion!, Great Expectations, The Jackal, The Unknown Cyclist, Ravenous,
Cradle Will Rock, Bubble Boy, Connie and Carla, House of D, And Then Came Love, Milk, Rubber.
Television: The Education of Max Bickford, 24, Desperate Housewives, Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy,
Will and Grace, Alias, Ed, Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Frasier, Nip/Tuck, Everwood,
Huff, Without A Trace, ER, Big Love, Numb3rs, The Mentalist.
Brian Ellingsen (Musician)
New York City based double bassist Brian Ellingsen performs a wide range of styles from
classical to cross media experimental. As a soloist he has placed in competitions such as the van
Rooy Competition, the Paranov Concerto Competition, and the 2009 International Society of
Bassists Competition. Brian has also appeared with the New York Chamber Soloists, Fifth House
Ensemble, NOW Ensemble, Transit, and performed as principle of the Lucerne Festival Academy
Orchestra, under Pierre Boulez. Recently, Brian was accepted as a fellow with Ensemble ACJW.
As an advocate for experimental music, Brian has collaborated with visual artists to bring their
work to life through improvisations. Brian has also given many solo recitals, performing new
works from today’s rising composers, in addition to his own improvisations.
Calendar of Events
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
October
20
19
7:30 pm
21
22
23
7:30 pm 8:00 pm
3:00 pm
Opening
Night
8:00 pm
29
30
7:30 pm 8:00 pm
3:00 pm
7:30 pm
24
25
26
2:00 pm
7:30 pm
Dialogue on
Drama
Performance
PostPerformance
Discussions
31 November
2:00 pm
Pre-show
Halloween
Bash
7:30 pm
27
1
2
3
7:30 pm
Dinner &
Theater
Saturday
28
Pride
Night
Party
After
Hours
Party
4
5
6
7:30 pm 8:00 pm
3:00 pm
8:00 pm
ASL
Interpreted +
Audio
Described
Performance
8:00 pm
7
2:00 pm
CORE CURRICULUM STANDARDS
According to the NJ Department of Education, “experience with and knowledge of the arts is a
vital part of a complete education.” Our production of An Iliad and the activities outlined in this
guide are designed to enrich your students’ education by addressing the following specific Core
Curriculum Content Standards for Visual and Performing Arts:
1.1 The Creative Process: All students will demonstrate an understanding of the elements
and principles that govern the creation of works of art in dance, music, theatre, and
visual art.
1.2 History of the Arts and Culture: All students will understand the role, development,
and influence of the arts throughout history and across cultures.
1.3 Performance: All students will synthesize those skills, media, methods, and
technologies appropriate to creating, performing, and/or presenting works of art in
dance, music, theatre, and visual art.
1.4 Aesthetic Responses & Critique Methodologies: All students will demonstrate and
apply an understanding of arts philosophies, judgment, and analysis to works of art in
dance, music, theater, and visual art.
Viewing An Iliad and then participating in the pre- and post-show discussions and activities
suggested in this audience guide will also address the following Core Curriculum Content
Standards in Language Arts Literacy.
3.1 Reading: All students will understand and apply the knowledge of sounds, letters, and
words in written English to become independent and fluent readers, and will read a
variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.
3.2 Writing: All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in
content and form for different audiences and purposes.
3.3 Speaking: All students will speak in clear, concise, organized language that varies in
content and form for different audiences and purposes.
3.4 Listening: All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a
variety of situations.
3.5 Viewing and Media Literacy: All students will access, view, evaluate, and respond to
print, non-print, and electronic texts and resources.
In addition, the production of An Iliad as well as the audience guide activities will help to fulfill
the following Social Studies Core Curriculum Standard:
6.2 World History/Global Studies: All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think
analytically and systematically about how past interactions of people, cultures, and the
environment affect issues across time and cultures. Such knowledge and skills enable
students to make informed decisions as socially and ethically responsible world citizens
in the 21st century.
PRE-SHOW PREPARATION, QUESTIONS FOR
DISCUSSION, AND ACTIVITIES
Note to Educators: Use the following assignments, questions, and activities to introduce your
students to AN ILIAD and its intellectual and artistic origins, context, and themes, as well as to
engage their imaginations and creativity before they see the production.
1. AN ILIAD: WEB SITE BASICS. Share the various articles and information found on McCarter's An
Iliad Web Site with your students—preferably by reading them aloud as a class or in small
groups—to provide an historical and creative context for Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s
creative, contemporary adaptation of Homer’s epic poem.
2. EXPLORING HOMER’S ILIAD BEFORE A PERFORMANCE OF AN ILIAD. Homer’s Iliad stands at the
beginning of the Western literary tradition, as well as at the center of a classical education.
The 15,693 lines of hexameter verse is often referred to as “the first book,” although it was
originally composed more than 2,700 years ago as an oral narrative poem—before the
ancient Greeks even developed an alphabet—and intended for live recitation/performance.
Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare's adaption An Iliad is based upon the Robert Fagles'
translation of Homer (published by Penguin, 1990). Peterson, who also directs this
production, was in midst of researching war plays as an artistic response to the protracted
American wars with Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005, when The Iliad was suggested to her. She
fell upon Fagles' translation and "fell in love”; she would get together with her collaborator,
friend and performer O'Hare to read it aloud to one another. An Iliad focuses Homer's
sprawling, 1,000-warrior Trojan War epic on the conflict of the War's two primary heroic
opponents, Achilles and Hector, and includes lyrical passages largely from Books 1, 6, 16, 18,
22, and 24 of Fagles' translation.
Below are two different methods of having your students experience the text of AN ILIAD
through recitation of Homer’s immortal war poem in translation.
Book One Bardship

Have your students experience the nature of oral recitation and the vividness
of Homer’s storytelling by reading aloud to one another from Book 1 of the
Iliad by Homer, preferably Fagles' translation (Penguin Books, 1990).

Remind them that Homer's poem was originally composed for oral
transmission, and that in Ancient Greece professional singing performers
(aoidoi, then rhapsodes) participated in competitions for prizes at
religious/civic festivals. Although students needn't sing their assigned
passages, encourage them to present them as lively and vividly as possible by
engaging in the narrative and enacting the more dramatic dialogical
passages.

Ask students to discuss the joys and challenges of reading/reciting the Iliad as
translated by Fagles.

Engage students in a discussion of the story and themes of Homer's Iliad,
Book 1.
[Other fine and widely accessible translations include Robert Fitzgerald's (Anchor Books,
1974, 1989) and Richard Lattimore's The Iliad of Homer (University of Chicago, 1967), which
may be available in your school's or community’s (public) library.]
Battle of the Bards; or Dueling Translations

Have your students experience the nature of oral recitation, the vividness of
Homer’s storytelling and the art and craft of the translator by having them
prepare for a bardic competition.

The title of “Top Bard” will be given to the student-bard judged (by teacher
and class) to have presented/performed the most lively, engaging and
dramatic recitation of the climactic meeting of Achilles and Hector in Book 22
of Homer’s Iliad.

Teachers can draw from the following translations (two are linked, the others
may be may be available in your school’s or community’s (public) library):

Robert Fagles, The Iliad (Penguin Books, 1990)—Lines 363-397.

Robert Fitzgerald, The Iliad (Anchor Books, 1974)—Lines 364-400.

Richard Lattimore, The Iliad of Homer (University of Chicago, 1967)—Lines 306336.
This text can also be accessed via Northwestern University’s The Chicago Homer
(web site): http://digital.library.northwestern.edu/homer/html/application.html

Alexander Pope (1899)—Pages 398-399; lines not numbered.
Start: Fierce, at the word, his weighty sword he drew,”
End: Thee birds shall mangle, and the gods devour.

Ask students to discuss the joys and challenges of reading/reciting the Iliad,
as well as the joys and challenges of each different translation.

Using secret balloting, have students select their favorite bardic
performance. When voting, ask them to indicate what made the
performance their favorite. When announcing the winner, read the
comments commending the winning bard’s performance.

Ask students to discuss the qualities of an engaging performance.

If possible, crown the winning bard with laurel, in the Greek style!
3. IN CONTEXT: HOMER AND HIS ILIAD. To prepare your students for An Iliad and to deepen their
level of understanding of the mythos of Homer and his mythological "poem of Ilium" have
them research, either in groups or individually, the following topics:





Homer and the "Homeric
Question"
Greek hero cults and Homereia
Aoidoi and rhapsodes
Troy
The Gods
 Aphrodite
 Apollo
 Ares
 Athena
 Hephaestus
 Hera
 Hermes
 Thetis
 Zeus


The Greeks/Achaeans
 Achilles
 Agamemnon
 Helen
 Menelaus
 Nestor
 Odyssesus
 Patroclus
The Trojans
 Andromache
 Astyanax
 Cassandra
 Hector
 Paris
 Priam
Have students teach one another about their individual or group topics via oral and
illustrated (i.e., posters or PowerPoint) reports. Following the presentations ask your
students to reflect upon their research process and discoveries.
4. GOING SOLO ON THE STAGE: AN EXPLORATION OF ONE-PERSON SHOWS. To prepare your students for
An Iliad and deepen their level of understanding and appreciation of the one-person show
tradition, familiarize them with a variety of solo performances pieces that they can view
(and perhaps read), analyze, and discuss. First, utilize the brief article “A ‘Cast of One’: The
History, Art, and Nature of the One-Person Show” found in this audience guide as a
jumping-off point for your group exploration. Then, compare and contrast two or three of
the following plays (most titles are available both in print and on VHS and/or DVD; a few
may be available at your school's or local public library):
The Belle of Amherst, William Luce
Mark Twain Tonight!, Hal Holbrook
Swimming to Cambodia, Spalding Gray
Monster in a Box, Spalding Gray
Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Anna Deavere Smith
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Anna Deavere Smith
Elaine Stritch At Liberty, Elaine Stritch (includes adult content /language)
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Jane Wagner
(Direct from Broadway:) Whoopi Goldberg, Whoopi Goldberg

Following each individual viewing:
o Have students journal (free write) a personal response to the
work of art.
o Then ask them to journal about what they noticed about the work
or where they found meaning (e.g. ask them to indicate what they
found stimulating, surprising, evocative, memorable, touching,
challenging, compelling, delightful, different, unique, or
meaningful) in both play and performance.
o Ask them to share their thoughts in an open discussion.

Continuing the discussion:
o Ask your students to identify the mode and form of each oneperson show they view.
o Ask them if their viewing of the work of art gave them any insights
into the pleasures and challenges of the one-person show form?
o Have students consider if the story of the play is suited only to a
solo-performance format. In other words, could they conceive of
the play’s story in a more conventionally dramatic or theatrically
expanded form (e.g., telling the story through the interaction of
multiple characters, utilizing several actors to tell the story, using
dialogue instead of monologue)? How would a different format
change the theatrical experience for both actor and audience?
o If students have the opportunity to view more than a single oneperson show, ask them to compare and contrast the plays, the
performers and performance styles.
POST-SHOW QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND
ACTIVITIES
Note to Educators: Use the following assignments, questions, and activities to have students
evaluate their experience of the performance of AN ILIAD, as well as to encourage their own
imaginative and artistic projects through further exploration of the play in production. Consider
also that some of the pre-show activities might enhance your students’ experience following the
performance.
1. AN ILIAD: PERFORMANCE REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION. Following their attendance at the
performance of An Iliad, ask your students to reflect on the questions below. You might
choose to have them answer each individually or you may divide students into groups for
round-table discussions. Have them consider each question, record their answers and then
share their responses with the rest of the class.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT THE PLAY IN PRODUCTION
a. What was your overall reaction to An Iliad? Did you find the production
compelling? Stimulating? Intriguing? Challenging? Memorable?
Confusing? Evocative? Unique? Delightful? Meaningful? Explain your
reactions.
b. Did experiencing the play in performance heighten your awareness,
understanding of, or connection to the ancient story of the Iliad and its
themes? What themes or ideas were made even more apparent and/or
significant in production/performance? Explain your responses.
c. What did you think of actor Stephen Spinella in the role of the Poet? What
was the nature or quality of his performance? Can you describe the
strengths of his work as storyteller and actor? Was there anything that
surprised you in his performance?
d. Did Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s adaptation effectively tell the story of
Homer’s Iliad and its characters? Did any one moment or part of the story
stand out to you in particular? Which moment or part was it and why did
you find it outstanding?
e. What overall effect did Peterson and O’Hara’s intertwining narrative of the
storyteller “Poet” and the story he tells have on you? Did you find this to be
an effective and compelling way to tell the story of war then and now?
f. Why do you think Peterson and O’Hare envisioned a “one-man” Iliad, that is,
why did they choose to tell the Homer’s story in this way? What are the
merits/advantages of an Iliad as a solo-performance piece? Could you
imagine a multi-character Iliad? What would be the merits/advantages of a
multi-character stage version of Homer’s Iliad? What would be the
challenges/disadvantages?
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS
a. Did you personally identify with Poet in An Iliad or with any of the characters
in the story of the Trojan War? Who? Why?
b. What memorable qualities or character traits were revealed by the action
and speech of the Poet? Explain your ideas.
c. In what ways did the Poet reveal the themes of the play? Explain your
responses.
d. What was the Poet’s overall attitude toward the story he is fated to tell? Do
you think his attitude has changed by the play’s end? If you think it has
changed, what is his new attitude? What do you think this change in his
attitude—or a lack of change—indicates?
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT THE STYLE AND DESIGN OF THE PRODUCTION
a. Was there a moment in An Iliad that was so compelling or intriguing that it
remains with you in your mind’s eye? Write a vivid description of that
moment. As you write your description, pretend that you are writing about
the moment for someone who was unable to experience the performance.
b. Did the style and design elements of the production enhance the
performance? Did anything specifically stand out to you? Explain your
reactions.
c. Did the overall production style and design reflect the central themes of the
story of An Iliad? Explain your response.
d. What did you notice about the set design? Did it provide an appropriate
and/or evocative setting/location for An Iliad? How and why, or why not?
e. What mood or atmosphere did the lighting design establish or achieve?
Explain your experience.
f. What did you notice about the costume worn by the “Poet.” What do you
think were the artistic and practical decisions that went into the conception
of the costume?
g. Did you find that the music in the production, composed by Mark Bennett
and performed by double bassist Brian Ellingsen (“The Muses”), effectively
served in the telling of the story of An Iliad? If so, what did the music and
“The Muses” bring to the production?
2. ADDITIONAL POST-SHOW QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION POINTS FOR AN ILIAD.
Comparing Homer’s Iliad and An Iliad: A War Poem Retold
Homer’s Iliad is an epic poem that narrates the story of the Trojan War and, as the first line
of the poem indicates, “the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles.” Although the tale that Homer tells
is replete with vivid and disturbing details of the horror, violence, suffering and misery of
war, it also, as historian Bernard Knox notes in his introduction to Robert Fagles’ translation,
“is a poem that celebrates the heroic values war imposes on its votaries,” and the glory and
excitement of battle.
Director and co-author of An Iliad, Lisa Peterson conceived of the notion of taking the
world’s greatest war poem and finding a way to adapt it into a play that would “demand a
public conversation” on the subject of war. She and co-author Denis O’Hare entitled their
adaptation An Iliad to suggest that theirs is not THE Iliad, but simply one telling of it.
Ask your students to contemplate Peterson and O’Hare’s adaptation and reimagining of
Homer’s war poem as a play and then engage them in a “public discussion” based upon the
following questions:





In the process of experiencing An Iliad, did it strike you as a work of political
art critical of war?
How would you characterize An Iliad’s point of view on war?
What parallels, if any, did your brain construct between the Trojan War and
the U.S. and Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (or any other war) as you
experienced An Iliad in performance?
Do you find the play and production to be an effective work of political art?
Why or why not?
Did you find An Iliad to be emotionally as well as intellectually engaging?
What did you find to be most engaged by the performance: your heart, your
brain, or your spirit? Explain your answers.
One the Other Hand: “More About Homer…”
An Iliad director and co-author, Lisa Peterson, has also said the following about her play:
“This Iliad is more about Homer than the Trojan War.”


3.
Ask your students to consider what Peterson might have meant by that
comment.
Suggestion: Have them consider the Poet in the production of An Iliad to be
Homer himself. What is it that the Poet seems to want? Why does he tell
the story?
A ONE-MAN ILIAD. A solo-play such as An Iliad requires what theater professionals refer to as
a “tour de force” performer, that is, an actor with great talent, skill, stamina, virtuosity, and
psychological strength or confidence. It is the performer’s ultimate challenge, and it is
reasonable to say that not just any actor could take on such a role. Certainly Stephen
Spinella is not just any ordinary actor. Spinella is a star of stage, screen, and television, and
has won two Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards for his acclaimed work in
Broadway plays and musicals including Angels in America: Milienium Approaches, Angels in
America: Perestroika, and James Joyces’s The Dead. Ask your students to reflect upon
Stephen Spinella’s performance in An Iliad and the one-person show form and its challenges
using the following questions:
4.

What did you find compelling, exciting, surprising, confounding, or worth
noting about Stephen Spinella’s performance in An Iliad?

What one moment of Spinella’s performance stands out foremost in your
mind when you think of An Iliad? Describe that moment in detail and explain
why you think it remains foremost in your thoughts.

What were the pleasures of watching Spinella embody the Poet and the
other characters in the play?

Was there anything that didn’t work for you in the performance of the piece?
Explain your response.

What in the nature of An Iliad (e.g., narrative, theme, characters, structure)
recommends it as or requires that it be a solo performance piece? Explain
your answer.

What would be lost theatrically or thematically if An Iliad were expanded into
a play for multiple characters, if anything? Explain your response.
AN ILIAD: THE REVIEW. Have your students take on the role of theater critic by writing a
review of the McCarter Theatre production of An Iliad. A theater critic or reviewer is
essentially a “professional audience member,” whose job is to provide reportage of a play’s
production and performance through active and descriptive language for a target audience
of readers (e.g., their peers, their community, or those interested in the arts).
Critics/reviewers analyze the theatrical event to provide a clearer understanding of the
artistic ambitions and intentions of a play and its production; reviewers often ask
themselves, “What is the playwright and this production attempting to do?” Finally, the
critic offers personal judgment as to whether the artistic intentions of a production were
achieved, effective and worthwhile. Things to consider before writing:

Theater critics/reviewers should always back up their opinions with reasons,
evidence and details.

The elements of production that can be discussed in a theatrical review are
the play text or script (and its themes, plot, characters, etc.), scenic
elements, costumes, lighting, sound, music, acting and direction (i.e., how all
of these elements are put together). [See the Theater Reviewer’s Checklist.]
Educators may want to provide their students with sample theater reviews
from a variety of newspapers.
Encourage your students to submit their reviews to the school newspaper for
publication.
Students may also post their reviews on McCarter’s web site by visiting
McCarter Blog. Select “Citizen Responses” under “Categories” on the left
side of the web page, and scroll down to the An Iliad entry to post any
reviews.



5.
BLOG ALL ABOUT IT!: AN ILIAD. McCarter is very interested in carrying on the conversation
about An Iliad with you and your students after you’ve left the theater. If you are
interested in having them personally reflect upon their experience of the play in
performance, but are not interested in the more formal assignment of review writing, have
them instead post a post-show comment on the McCarter Theatre Blog. To access the blog,
click on this link McCarter Blog , then select “Citizen Responses” under “Categories” on the
left side of the web page, and scroll down to the An Iliad entry to find a place to post an
inquiry or comment. [For structured responses, consider the following prompt: What
expectations did you bring with you to An Iliad and were your expectations met, not met, or
exceeded by the performance?] See you on the blog!