The Clouds @ WSU (Ogden: Sept 28)

Lost in The Clouds

Who: Weber State University Honors Program & Department of Performing Art
What: Aristophanes’ The Clouds
When: Tuesday, 28 September 2010 • 1:30 pm
Where: Hetzel-Hoellein Room, Special Collections


Weber State University Department of Performing Arts Greek Readers Theatre presents Aristophanes’ “The Clouds,” Tuesday, September 22, 1:30 p.m., in the Hetzel-Hoellein Room, Stewart Library. This is a free performance and open to the public. The production is recommended for mature audiences only and contains mature themes and language. The cast is composed of WSU faculty, staff, students and members of the community.

A brief synopsis of “The Clouds”: Faced with legal action over debts, an elderly Athenian enrolls his son in The Thinkery to learn the rhetorical skills necessary to defeat their creditors in court. The son masters those skills, as well as some others, leading to a series of misfortunes for his father.

This is the 10th year of the Greek Readers Theatre celebration of Aristophanes’ comedies. His existing plays are listed below in the order they were written and including the year they were performed at WSU. Caril Jennings, the producer of this series, says, “My goal is to present all of Aristophanes’ work before I die. That means I only have two more years and this project will be complete. Then, I’ll just start recycling the scripts. He is always in style because there always seems to be a surplus stupidity to be satirized!”

*The Acharnians (425 BC) at WSU: A Separate Peace in 2008
*The Knights (Equites) (424 BC) At WSU: The Suits in 2007
*The Clouds (Nubes) (original 423 BC, uncompleted version from 419 BC – 416 BC survives) in 2010
The Wasps (Vespae) (422 BC)
*Peace (Pax) (first version, 421 BC) at WSU in 2006
*The Birds (Aves) (414 BC) at WSU in 2003
*Lysistrata (411 BC) at WSU in 2001 and again on 03/03/03
*Thesmophoriazusae or Celebrating Women (first version, c. 411 BC) at WSU in 2009
*The Frogs (Ranae) (405 BC) at WSU in 2002
*Ecclesiazusae or The Assemblywomen (c. 392 BC) at WSU in 2005
Plutus or Wealth (second version, 388 BC)

In 2004 an original script, “The Apology of Michael Moore” by Peter Vernezze, was performed instead of an Aristophanes play.