Scenes from "The Suppliant Women

Performance Research Workshop | February 21, 2021

16 zoom squares arranged in groups of four against a black background; in the squares are 16 people in black shirts dancing

Swarthmore College’s Department of Theater Performance Research Workshop presents Scenes from THE SUPPLIANT WOMEN, an extraordinary 2600-year old human rights story told through community, song, and movement. 
 
Led by Director Alex Torra, Music Director Alma Richeh, and Choreographer Shavon Norris, Scenes from THE SUPPLIANT WOMEN is the culmination of a month-long experiment by the students of Performance Research Workshop (THEA 026) in creating virtual communal performance. In response to this moment of physical distance and political chaos, 31 students and non-student performers from diverse geographies and backgrounds have come together to transform an ancient Greek play into a contemporary call to action.
 
Part-theater, part-ritual, and part-political outcry, The Suppliant Women tells the story of 50 sisters who flee their homeland to escape forced marriage. At the gates of the city called Argos, they plead for asylum with the King and face off with the men who would be their husbands. In a new adaptation by writer David Greig and composer John Browne, the play uses song, chant, and movement to capture the rage, sorrow, and resilience of their journey.

To read more about the background and process of creating this project click here. 

Creative & Producing Director: Alex Torra
Movement & Staging Director: Shavon Norris
Music Director: Alma Richeh
Assistant Music Directors: Rachel Camp & Elena Camp
Community Engagement Coordinator: Josie Ross '21
Community Engagement Mentor: Sarah Gladwin Camp
Percussionists: Tareq Rantisi & Mel Regn
Aulos: Callum Armstrong
Audio Engineer: Inna Dudukina
Video Editor: Danielle Gatto

Scenes from THE SUPPLIANT WOMEN is a project created by the Department of Theater course Performance Research Workshop (THEA 026) and supported by Swarthmore College's Honors Program and an Engaged Scholarship grant from the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility. 

15 zoom squares arranged in three lines of five against a black background; in the squares are 15 people in black shirts staring directing into the camera; text reads "Born beside the Nile's waters"
15 zoom squares arranged in 3 lines of 5 against a black background; in the squares are 15 people in low light looking directly into the camera
25 zoom squares arranged in 5 lines of 5 against a black background; in the squares are 25 people in black shirts dancing
6 zoom squares in a line with one above and one below against a black background; in the six squares are open mouths and teeth; in the top square is a person with a mustache and beard, in the bottom square is a person with bangs looking angry; text reads "We will fight you me of shit!"
2 zoom squares against a black background, one top left the other bottom right; in top left square a person with a beard looks angrily down at the bottom right square, where a person with bangs looks up; text reads "You don't dawdle, sitting there"
Six zoom squares in the center make up a patch work angrily male face, surrounded by 10 zoom squares of women fearfully and fiercely fighting for their safety; text reads " Ot ot ot ot ot ot - oi! oi!"
32 zoom squares arranged in rows showing people in their own clothes and in their own homes, arms outstretched to the sides so their hands extend beyond the frame and they look like they are all connected
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