July 2021 — Electra, performed by groundbreaking, fully virtual theater production company Access Classics, and co-produced by Calling Up Justice. is one of twelve curated shows selected from across the United States to be shown at the Women’s Theatre Festival Fringe 21.
The adaptation of the classic Euripides play was written by Adrienne Kennedy and directed by intersectional inclusion expert and digital theatre leader Claudia Alick. Access Classics is dedicated to creating classical theatre for a global audience through a feminist, decolonized, inclusionary lens. Electra will be presented on the Women’s Theatre Festival’s YouTube channel on July 10th, 16th and 18th. Tickets are pay what you can and available here. This is next generation classical theatre.
Revenge, Reconciliation, War, Sacrifice, Betrayal, Murder and the Mystical. Euripides’ 2500-year-old play is brought to vivid life in Adrienne Kennedy’s poetic language, dynamic digital design, and the equitable aesthetics of access and anti-racism. We are Clytemnestra. We are the Chorus. We are Electra. Adrienne Kennedy is best known for Funnyhouse of a Negro which premiered in 1964 and won an Obie Award; in 2018 she was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Her writing transcends character and plot through ritualistic repetition and radical structural experimentation as does this production. Electra, through its virtual platform, demonstrates how we can level the playing field. As a virtual production, it has unlimited shelf space, global distribution, and is less costly to produce. This is the future: new media combined with traditional.
Electra is maximally accessible. Captioning and ASL interpretation are part of the design and performance. This production centers the creativity and leadership of BIPOC, disabled, LGBTQIA2S+, women, and other community members burdened by systemic oppressions; our vision is an anti-racist, trauma-informed, accessible ensemble production that embodies the complex identities and outstanding talents of our team. Electra’s cast and creative team include several people with disabilities, and we are working with The Curiosity Paradox for access dramaturgy.
There are 3 live performances:
Sat, July 10th, 2021 at 5:30pmPT/8:30pmET
Fri, July 16th, 2021 at 7:30pmPT/10:30pmET
Sun, Jul 18th, 2021 at 1:00pmPT/4:00pmET
Tickets are pay-what-you-will, no minimum donation amount. This is a ticketed event and will be presented on YouTube.
The cast: Antoine Hunter (Oakland, California), Riel Donna Joy (Montreal, Quebec), Sabrina Liu (La Jolla, California), Grant Miller (Portland, OR), Renee Rogoff (NYC/San Francisco), Camille Simone Thomas (Detroit/Jamaica), Kaiy Watts (Maryland)
Creative Team (who are based in North Carolina, California, Kentucky & Ohio): Claudia Alick (Director), Keyanna Alexander (Stage Manager, Stream Designer), Katia Carmichael (Assistant Stage Manager), Randy Wong-Westbrooke (Visual Designer), Brittany Mellerson (Lighting and Sound Designer), Angelique Pinkston & Keara Beck (ASL Interpretation) Heather Ondersma (Caption Design) Access Classics: Heather Ondersma and Micky Goldhaber