In translating any foreign piece of work the potential conflict always lies in attempting to translate as close to the text as possible without extracting the art from the art form. In "Medea," a Greek tragedy written by Euripides in the 5th century, this conflict is magnified; not only was "Medea" written in a foreign language, it was written for a culture quite different from our own.
In searching for an appropriate translation of "Medea" to present as the Dartmouth Drama Department's Spring term mainstage production, the director, Professor James Loehlin, faced this exact dilemma. He found that translations of Euripides' "Medea" fell into one of two categories: either the translation was too literal, classical and unspeakable, or it was overly manipulated for the stage and removed from the intent of the original work.
It was about this same time that Leslie Cushner '00 was completing culminating work for a class that she had taken in the winter of 1998. It was while doing this work on Greek tragedies last spring that she became involved with the Drama Department's production of "Medea."
Loehlin was unable to find a translation of "Medea" that would be most powerful on a modern stage. After realizing Cushner's knowledge of the Greek language and Greek culture, the Drama Department (specifically Loehlin and Professor Framji Minwalla) asked her if she would be willing to translate Euripides' "Medea" so that it could be presented as the mainstage production for the 1999 Spring term. "I said yes immediately!-It was too good an opportunity to pass up," Cushner said.
After accepting the request to translate "Medea," Cushner embarked upon the long and arduous process. Her work began by reading almost every copy of "Medea" that Baker Library had. She, too, realized that the translations were not quite adapted for a more modern stage.
"The more actable ones are adapted translations," Cushner said, "but they don't convey the Greek language or the cultural nuances."
Inspired by her goal to create a translation that presented Euripedes' intent in language that was both literal and accessible, she began the task of literal translation. She worked through the summer, fall and winter, often even looking up words that she knew quite well, in order to ensure the retainment of cultural subtleties and Euripides's original style. After months of tedious and exacting translating, the piece was finally ready for the stage by the end of this past winter term.
Playing the title character is Brenda Withers '00, and the role of Jason is played by Rashaad Green '00. Nell Shanahan '99 plays the nurse.
The presentation of Euripedes' "Medea" this spring will mark the first time the Drama Department has tackled a Greek tragedy in over a decade. The production of "Medea" is "consistent with the educational goals of the Drama Department in presenting different aspects of theatre from around the world," said Loehlin.
Furthermore, Loehlin mentioned that one of the main reasons that Medea was chosen over other Greek tragedies was because of Euripedes' colloquial style that brings the heightened language to a more accessible and relevent level.
"Medea" is a play about ultimate betrayal and revenge. After her husband Jason marries the daughter of King Crion, Medea contemplates supreme revenge. Believing that no other option is accessible to her, Medea does the unthinkable by killing her own children to avenge the wrongs that Jason has committed against her. Withers believes that the psychological battle that Medea undergoes is the focus of the play. "The killing isn't important, the process is," Withers said. While the play challenges socially accepted psychological motivations, hopefully the audience will focus not on the horror of Medea's action but on the psychology of the woman. "Medea" opens Thursday night at 8 pm in the Moore theatre. It will run Thursday May 6 through Saturday May 8, and May 12 through May 14, all at 8 p.m. There will also be a 2 p.m. matinee performance on May 15.
