The Marquee

Eurydice

Sarah Ruhl, the author of Eurydice, studied first to become a poet.  While at Brown University she switched to playwrighting, though the influence of poetry can be clearly seen in her work.  The MacArthur Fellowship recipient, is best known for her plays "The Clean house", "In the Next Room", and "Dead Man's Cellphone".  Her work mixes the everyday with the mythical and unexpected to create a new world full of the unknown.

Eurydice's tragic life has long been portrayed in many different art forms.  As a young woman she falls madly in love with Orpheus, known in Greek mythology as the greatest musician and poet.  The original myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is focused on Orpheus and his journey into the underworld after Eurydice's tragic death to try and bring her back to the land of the living.  While early Greek myths describe the underworld, ruled by Hades, as the place where every mortal goes after death, later myths describe it as the place where the dead are cursed to go when they have been judged as unworthy.  Very few managed to enter the underworld and return to the land of the living, and those few were deemed heroes.  Hades, the ruler of the underworld, has been seen in many different lights.  The Greek myths portray him as a just ruler, though known to be harsh in punishment for those who try to leave his realm and those who attempt to cheat death.

Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice reimagines the classic Orpheus myth from the perspective of Eurydice.  Ruhl explores themes of love and loss through the life and death of a woman.  What do you do when you have to make a choice?  Do you risk losing again something that you've already lost once, or do you take the risk and live the unexplored life?  Eurydice is a play where the divide between life and death is blurred and where your entire world can be changed with one backward glance.

London Theatre Offerings

During the summer and fall of 2012, the Department of Communication and Theatre will again be offering courses of study in London.

The summer five week term will offer courses in British culture, communication theories and research, intercultural communication and independent study. The program will also allow students to experience numerous plays and musicals in London and Stratford upon Avon as well as providing the opportunity for independent travel..

A second course of study will also be offered in the Fall of 2012. Students on this trip will be guided in their studies and tours by PLNU faculty Ronda and Carl Winderl.

The intent of the Fall program is to allow PLNU students the opportunity to complete a semester of 12-17 credits in Great Britain (principally London) with the vast cultural resources of the country easily accessible and incorporated into their various courses. Creative scheduling will provide several long weekend breaks to facilitate travel throughout Great Britain and Europe, with more extensive independent travel possible after courses conclude in late November.

Courses will offer/include extensive exposure to the museums, concert halls, professional and fringe theatres, political and historic sites. Several overnight visits will be provided as part of the coursework, to locations such as Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Bath and Stonehenge.