Christopher Shorr's Clytemnestra’s Daughters at Touchstone Theatre
A concert reading of Clytemnestra's Daughters, an original work by Christopher Shorr, director of the Moravian College Theatre Company and visiting assistant professor of English, will be held at Bethlehem's Touchstone Theatre, Thursday, January 28, at 8 p.m.
Based on an aggressive re-working of three tragedies by Greek playwrights—Aeschylus' The Oresteia, Sophocles' Electra, and Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis—Clytemnestra's Daughters centers around issues of power and powerlessness among the women in the story. Research for the work was the subject of the 2009 SOAR project "Finding Clytemnestra's Daughters" by Rebecca Kolacki '10 and Alanah Cervantes '12, advised by Professor Shorr.
In addition to Touchstone Ensemble members and apprentices, the performance will feature Moravian College student Lauren Taylor '11 (Chrysothemis); assistant director of leadership giving Julia Gasdaska '07 (Iphigenia); and members of the Bethlehem community. Audience members are invited to stay for a discussion of the play following the performance.
The concert reading represents one facet of an ongoing collaboration between Touchstone Theatre and the Moravian College Theatre Company. "We are always looking for opportunities to collaborate with other arts organizations," explains Lisa Jordan, producing director of Touchstone Theatre. "This area is so full of creative individuals and groups, and the more we build on that strength, the more we will become known for it—here in the Valley and beyond. We especially enjoy working with Christopher and the students at Moravian because we share an artistic sensibility—our work is complementary, and that helps the ideas to really start to flow."
Touchstone Theatre is located at 321 E. 4th Street, Bethlehem. Clytemnestra's Daughters is open to the public, and admission is free.