From the Playwright: Lisa Peterson
Co-writer and original director Lisa Peterson on the play, the adaptation, and why now is the right time for AN ILIAD
Lisa Peterson is one of America’s preeminent directors. Her work has been seen across the country at such theaters as Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, The Guthrie Theater, and most recently at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where she is associate director. Ms. Peterson cowrote An Iliad with actor Denis O’Hare, and directed the original production. Together they formed Homer’s Coat, “a creative collective that explores foundational literature.” We caught up with Ms. Peterson to hear about the process of writing and staging An Iliad.
On Homer’s ILIAD
In 2003, when the U.S. began its “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq, I was deeply troubled. I was a kid during the Vietnam War, too young for it to really sink in. But in 2003 I thought: “OK, now we are a country at war; we are starting a war” — and I thought that meant that it was our responsibility, as theater artists, to think about and talk about what it means to be a country at war. I began reading all of the great “war” plays — in English and English translation — and a very smart friend of mine who teaches drama told me that she begins her Western Drama class with Homer’s Iliad. And that had always stuck with me, because I studied the Iliad in college, but as literature, not as drama. But I began to think about it differently, and realized that Homer may only be the name we give to an ancient, spoken tradition. That this epic poem was passed on from storyteller to storyteller, spoken and sung well before it was ever written down. That was the beginning of the idea, that it would be exciting to imagine this “Homer” still exists somewhere in the cosmos, and has to continue to tell the story of the Trojan War until human nature changes, until there is no more war — which of course is impossible.
Collaboration and adaptation
The most important impulse I had next was to approach an incredible actor, Denis O’Hare, and ask if he was interested in making this adaptation with me. Luckily, he said yes, because he is a very political person, and we began to focus the story on two opposing heroes: Achilles and Hector. Once we decided to focus on those two heroes, it became easier for us to decide which parts of Homer’s text to include. At the same time, we began recording ourselves “riffing,” that is improvising, on various ideas in the ancient text. We focused on “rage,” which happens to be the first word in the original Greek text, and that led us to improvise on the subject of rage — what is it? What does it feel like? How does it fire us up? What makes us want to destroy each other?
Choosing a translation
We read a few English translations in the early days of our work on this piece. We liked the Lombardo, and I had read the Fitzgerald in college and so had some nostalgic interest in that. But the Fagles just sang out, in this strong, jangly, witty free verse — often with the power of the dactylic hexameter of the Greek, but free enough to break it, too. We just found it the most fun to speak out loud. And it still gave us the “classical” sound that we needed to contrast with our very modern-sounding adaptation.
The play onstage
I suppose the most difficult part of staging An Iliad is to orchestrate the subtle shifts in tone, tempo, rhythm — so that the play feels like it’s in constant motion, that it’s not the same world for 100 minutes, but shifts with the Poet’s emotional state, and with the story that he’s telling. Finding the right way to change the look and feel of the production just enough that it stays simple, but also takes the audience on an exciting journey.
I’d say the most important aspect is the devotion to simplicity, the interest in pure storytelling. So as a director, I keep coming back to the basic idea of an empty theater, and the few things we might find in that magical empty space: a table, a chair, some unused lighting instruments. But then another kind of magic enters the world: music. And when the music enters, theatrical lighting can also enter. And really, it comes down to the electricity of an actor and a musician interacting with an audience on any given night.
To see Lisa Peterson’s play onstage as directed by M. Craig Getting, join us for An Iliad at Lantern Theater Company, now through December 11. Visit our website for tickets and information.
