Contact:
The Department of Theatre
801-581-6448
or
James Svendsen
Associate
Professor, Languages & Literature
(801) 581-4607
jim.svendsen@mac.com
MISSION STATEMENT
The Classical Greek Theatre Festival (CGTF)
is an annual theatrical event created to introduce and sustain the
appreciation of ancient Greek theatre throughout communities and
campuses in various southwestern and western states. CGTF is committed
to the idea that Greek drama, like Shakespearean drama, has much to
offer contemporary audiences.
The festival, now in its thirty-seventh
season, began in 1971 under the inspiration and leadership of Dr.
Keith Engar, past chair of the University of Utah Department of
Theatre, and
Dr. Jim Svendsen, professor in the Department of
Languages and Literature, who has served to the present as classical
consultant and dramaturge.
The Classical Greek Theatre Festival was so named to reflect a
multidimensional event that includes not just the theatrical
performance but also educational components. These include lectures,
post-play discussions, exhibits, symposia, films, and a study guide
distributed widely to the general public and to high school and
college students.
With a professional director,
professional designers, composer and choreographer and actors from the
U of Utah's acclaimed Actor Training Program, CGTF has grown in terms
of audience size (with outside performances reaching 1,000) and has
established a track record for excellence, receiving critical
recognition and awards. In 1999, for example, CGTF's production of
Libation Bearers won a regional award from the Kennedy Center/American
College Theatre Festival.
The support for the Festival is
broad-based. It includes the University of Utah's Department of
Theatre, The Utah Humanities Council, The Utah Arts Council and The
Salt lake City Arts Council. In addition, The Utah Performing Arts
Tour of the Utah Arts Council has for many years matched the fee paid
by local sponsors and thus subsidized the tour of the state of Utah. A
grant from the Thomas D. Dee Foundation and a donation from the Greek
Orthodox Community of Salt Lake City also subsidize the production
costs.
In the falls of
2001-2003, CGTF mounted and toured productions of Sophocles' cycle of
plays on the family of Oedipus. CGTF devoted the last four years to
plays focused on the Trojan War and the family of Agamemnon:
Aeschylus' Agamemnon in 2004, Euripides' prequel
Iphigenia at Aulis In 2005, Euripides' Electra in 2006
and Euripides' Helen in 2007.
CGTF is unique in
its attempt to bring ancient Greek theatre to a broad American
audience through modern American translations, original music, song
and dance and an utterly entertaining theatricality. While there are
many Shakespearean festivals throughout the USA, there is only one
touring Greek festival: The Classical Greek Theatre Festival of Utah.
