Ingredients:
One hardwood ballroom floor.
Multiple large pieces of carpet, well overlapped.
Sand.
Clay.
Water.
Many, many hands.
The Women of Troy takes place in a clearing outside the walls of Troy, just after Troy's fall. Tents erected by the invading Greek fighters have been hastily vacated to make space for the captives: women and children who weren't killed during the sacking.
For our Scene, then, we faced the challenge of converting a lovely Masonic ballroom into a bleak day under an expansive sky on the doorstep of a ruined city. Our strategy? Wood, earth, stone.
Laying the floor took an evening of shoveling, mixing, spreading and pounding, performed by ensemble members of all kinds: actors, designers, producers. After 2 days of drying, the ground hardened into a (mostly) solid pack. Some touch-ups may be necessary, but that said, the ground looks jarringly real.
Add rocks, logs and brush in front of soft floor-to-ceiling draping, and the playing space is transformed.
Through the whole artistic process, we've been guided by two words: tragic, beautiful. The women of our story have wakened to a very bleak world, yet "bleak" is only the backdrop. There is beauty here too. Clouds continue to pass. The sun continues to rise and set. Within the tents, the women continue to look for answers.
On October 2nd, we will join them in the search.
Elisabeth Harvey McCumber
Playwright, Director's Assistant
