The production is not going to take place in a set time period. The play has been adapted so many times since it was written that it gives some creative leeway. Its timelessness also helps create a mirror of recent events.

“The finale of the play is a very specific denunciation of the war for what is does to all people. It destroys them,” said Dr. Mary-Ellen Jacobs, Chair of the English Department, who is playing the lead in the production. “The way the play is staged will highlight all of the devastation that has occurred in the city of Troy. The bleakness of the play will cause us to think more deeply about war and the human consequences of war.”

Kim Corbin, Lab Technician for the Fine and Performing Arts Department who is creating the costumes for the production, said: “We’re creating our own world. We’re not really setting the play specifically in a certain time period; we’re just suggesting some ancientness.”

This point of view is also being used for the set design. “It will suggest destruction, because this is a conquered city,” Corbin said.

One interesting aspect about the set design is that instead of having the play on stage and the audience in the seats, the roles will be switched. The audience will be sitting in the staging area while the play takes place in the seating area. A special set will be brought in to accommodate the cast.

“I think it’s really cool. I think it’ll be nice to see it from a different perspective,” said Vanessa Garcia, sophomore Drama major. She is part of the Chorus.

Mark Hogensen, Associate Professor of Arts and the one designing the set for the play, said, “We’re trying to make a set that will be lightweight and easy to move and modular so that we can put in place and take it out with a couple of people, but then we also want to create an interesting scene for the actors to move through. It’s going to be an interesting experience.”

The cast includes Dr. Mary-Ellen Jacobs as Hecuba; Gary Guerra as Poseidon; Desiree McCulloch as Pallas Athene; Sarah Castillo, Vanessa Garcia, Courtknee Noels, Desiree McCulloch, Isela Patino, Priscilla Riojas, and Jenny Luna as the Chorus; Jacob Hernandez as Talthybios; Laura Wilson as Cassandra; Teresa Rodrick as Andromeda; Nelly Pereza as Helen; Billy Munoz as Menelaus; Tony Navarro, Adrian Sanchez, Simon Garcia, and Joey Hartfield as Soldiers; Erica Morales serves as stage manager.