Manhattan Experimental Theater Workshop

overview

Imagine the story of Oedipus the King in the hands of Joanne Akalaitis, María Irene Fornés, Peter Handke, and Harold Pinter. Can't do it? We did.

The 2008 MXTW company put their heads together and crafted 4 original pieces for the theater under the influence of some of the 20th and 21st Century's most interesting avant garde playwrights. (And then we created another piece under our own influence.)

A synopsis of Oedipus the King and links to the new scripts written in the 2008 workshop here.

A brief description of the MXTW process is available here.

target story

What you need to know about the story in Sophocles' Oedipus, The King:

Prophecies say the yet unborn son of Laius, king of Thebes, will grow up and kill him. When the baby is just three days old Laius binds the baby's feet and gives it to one of his shepherds to leave on a mountainside to die. Unbeknownst to Laius, the shepherd takes the baby and gives it to a friend of his from a neighboring kingdom. This man then gives it to the king and queen of that land, since they are childless. They raise the baby as their own son, naming him Oedipus and telling him nothing of his origins. When Oedipus has grown, he hears a drunken man accuse him of not being the true son of those he believes to be his parents. He consults the oracle and is told he is destined to kill his father and wed his mother. Oedipus leaves the kingdom he grew up in so as to avoid this terrible fate. At a place where three roads meet he encounters a small party of travelers who attempt to push him off the road; he responds by killing all but one of the party. He continues on to the city of Thebes, which is without a king and suffers at the hands of a sphinx who demands that the young men of the city answer her riddle correctly or die. When Oedipus figures out the riddle, the people of Thebes make him their king, and Oedipus marries Jocasta, the widow of the King who had died shortly before Oedipus arrived in the city. Years pass, Oedipus has sons and daughters by Jocasta, and is a king well liked by the people of Thebes; but a plague has come upon the city and the people ask Oedipus to discover what can be done. The oracle at Delphi says that the murderer of the previous king, Laius, is living among the people of Thebes and must be cast out in order to end the plague. Oedipus vows to discover the murderer and exile him. Creon, Jocasta's brother and joint ruler of Thebes, suggests that Oedipus consult with the blind seer, Tiresias. But when Tiresias tells Oedipus that he, himself, is the man he seeks, Oedipus accuses Creon of conspiring against him. Creon defends himself, claiming he is happy sharing equal rule with Oedipus and Jocasta. Jocasta tells Oedipus all she knows about her former husband's death, specifically that it happened where three roads meet. Oedipus begins to suspect he might actually be the murderer of Laius and sends for the shepherd who survived the incident at the crossroads, to question him. At the same time, a messenger from the neighboring kingdom arrives and tells Oedipus that the king who raised him as a son has died and the people what him to be king there too. Oedipus dares not go back because of the prophecy that he will wed his mother, but the messenger reassures him that he need have no fear, since he knows she is not Oedipus's real mother. It turns out the messenger is the very man to whom Laius's kindhearted, but disloyal, shepherd gave the baby that he was supposed to kill. The shepherd that survived the roadside attack arrives and reveals all. Jocasta realizes that Oedipus is indeed her son and retreats into the palace. When Oedipus is finally convinced that not only did he murder his true father, Laius, but has also wed his true mother, he follows Jocasta into the palace. A servant from the palace recounts to the people of Thebes how Oedipus came in to the palace raging, battered down Jocasta's door, and found her lifeless body; for she had hanged herself. When Oedipus saw this he reached for the two broaches from Jocasta's dress and used them to gouge out his eyes. Oedipus promises to leave Thebes forever to rid it of the corruption that has caused the plague. He says goodbye to his two young daughters and leaves. The chorus of Thebans laments that we should count no man happy until he dies free of troubles.

reader

MXTW 2008 Reader Contents

Bibliography

Rachilde, “Pleasure,” in Madame La Mort and Other Plays, Kiki Gonnarido & Frazer Lively trans. and ed. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998) 81-92.

Rachilde, “The Crystal Spider,” in Symbolist Drama: An International Collection, (Performing Arts journal Publications, 1985) 67-75.

Stanislaw Przybyszewski, “Visitors,” in Symbolist Drama: An International Collection, (Performing Arts journal Publications, 1985) 123-138.

Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, “The Mute Canary,” in dada performance, Mel Gordon, ed. (Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1987) 104-110.

Tristan Tzara, “The First Celestial Adventure of Mr. Antipyrine, Fire Extinguisher,” in dada performance, Mel Gordon, ed. (Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1987) 52-62.

Harold Pinter, “Trouble in the Works, The Black and White,” in Harold Pinter: Complete Works Two (Grove Press, Inc., 1977) 237-243.

Harold Pinter, “Night, That’s All, That’s Your Trouble, Applicant,” in Harold Pinter: Complete Works Three (Grove Press, Inc., 1977) 223-234.

Ludwig Flaszen, “Akropolis: Treatment of the Text,” in Towards a Poor Theater: Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, ed. (Routledge 2002) 61-77.

Peter Handke, “Prophecy” in The Ride Across Lake Constance and Other Plays, M. Roloff, trans. (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1976).

Peter Handke, “Self Accusation” in Peter Handke: Kaspar and Other Plays, M. Roloff, trans. (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1969)

Adrienne Kennedy, “A Rat’s Mass” and “Lesson in a Dead Language,” in Adrienne Kennedy, In One Act, (University of Minnesota Press, 1988) 55-66, 47-54.

Richard Foreman, “Pandering to the Masses: A Misrepresentation,” in The Theater of Images, Bonnie Marranca, ed. (Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1977) 12-36.

JoAnne Akalaitis, “Dressed Like an Egg,” in WordPlays 4, (Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1979) 191-220.

ntozake shange, “Boogie Woogie Landscapes,” in three pieces, (St, Martin’s Press, 1981) 109-142.

Maria Irene Fornes, “The Danube,” in Maria Irene Fornes: Plays (Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1986) 42-64.

Heiner Muller, “Despoiled Shore – Medeamaterial – Landscape with Argonauts” and “Heartpiece,” in Hamletmachine and Other Texts for the Stage, C. Weber, trans. and ed., (Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1984) 123-136 & 120-121.

Caryl Churchill, “The Skriker,” in Churchill: Plays Three (Nick Hern Books, 1998) 239-291.

scripts

Copyright and Permission to Reproduce

Self-fulfilling Prophecy/Freaky
Written and performed by the company
Assisted and directed by the Directing Staff
Under the influence of Peter Handke

Norwegia
Written and performed by Mindi, Paul, and Rebecca
Directed by Jim
Under the influence of María Irene Fornés

OEDIPUS IN REVUE
Written and performed by Jordan, Havana, and Justin
Directed by Amanda and Charlie
Under the influence of Harold Pinter

THE SEA QUEEN'S CHAMBER
Written and performed by Lakin, Hannah, and Hunter
Directed by Gwethalyn
Under the influence of JoAnne Akalaitis

Our Branches Wound in Wool
Written and performed by the company
Assisted and directed by the Directing Staff
Under our own influence

company

Lakin Anderson
Hannah Bonilla
Jordan Cast
Mindi DePaola
Paul Knackendoffel
Havana Mahoney
Rebecca Margolies
Hunter Rose
Justin Wheatley

staff

Director: Gwethalyn Williams

Assistant Directors: Amanda Paez, Charlie Sutterlin, Jim Hamilton

Producer: Jim Hamilton

Tech crew: Rob Dunn, Ellen Welti, Megan Clark

Graphic: Mike Senften