The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-30
GREEK PLAY
OUTDOORS
Will be Given by Students at
Berkely. Cal.
'ANCIENTMUSICPRESERV
The "Ajax" Of sOphOcles Is Being Re-
hearsed BY Students in Greek De
partment Of California
University.
ANCIENTMUSICP PRESERVED

Inc me Eucalyptus uhu CYPRESS trees /
which look down into the beautiful
Greek theater at Berkeley. Cal, are 70
see something new under the Ameri |
can snn--a Greek tragedy given IN TIC
open air. just as 1t might have been
given thousands Of years ago among
the hills or Greece. says tie New
York Herald
The opening Of the theater year ago
was celebrated by the production Of
'FThe Birds. under the direction DC the
classical department. 1t is more Of anil
undertaking TO give tragedy and toll
assist the students in this effort Pres
ident Wheeler Of the University Of
California and the department Of
Greek invited Miss Mabel Hay Bar
rows Of New York to some to Califor
MIA and take the direction q tie
Ajax" OF Sophocles Size is in 3eFke
ley. ana the work IS well under way.
The story Of Ajax makes it's appeal
today as much as it did wien il wasl
played before the old Athenians, A00l
years before Christ II Is as follows:
The arms OF Achilles had been awarded, !
after his death. 10 Odysseus, though Ajax
was generally considered second to Achtl- |
les among heroes Of that day. AJAX was
angry with thwarted ambition and vowed
vengeance on the men who had voted
against bis claims In the dead Of night
he went out to XIII these foes or at least |
the chief OF them. Agamemnon. Menelaos
and Odyssens. Athena, who loved him
none too we'll turned his blind fury
against the cattle which had been brought
In as booty When morning dawned and
reason returned he was overwhelmed with |
remorse ana determined 70 end his own
life
He bids farewell to wife and child and
friends his warriors and sailors from
Salamis and, seeking a secret spot on the
seashore buries his sword hilt IN the
/ sand, falls on the point and dies. His
| heartbroken wife finds the body, bat be-
| fore Il can be removed Agamennon and
/ Menelaos arrive In anger, declaring that
the body OF the would be murderer must
be left prey for birds Of carrion. Feu-
| GER half brother OF Ajax. demands decent
! burial for the dead chieftain and, through
| his persuasions, backed up by the unex-
/ pected approval OF 0dysseus, permission
| is granted to Teueer and his friends toI
/ deal with the body according to usage.
/ The play ends with the funeral process
sion the little child leaning bis hand
/ upon his fathers bier, warriors and
| sailors following. with Tecmessa. the
stricken wife. picture 81 sorrow and
desolation.
The chorus, made up Of fifteen men,
so distinctly feature Of a Greek trag
edy, plays an important part The
music for this chorus was written spe-
cially for the play. The composer VIII
lys Peck Kent. Of New York made
study of all the scraps of Greek music
that have survived to the present time.
including the famous hymn to Apollo
which was unearthed at Delphi ten or
dozen years ago. The voices are ac-
companied by quartet Of clarinets.
The simplicity Of this drama, with
its unity OF thought and action, is its
main charm. 1t Is rich In beautiful
lines and interesting in grouping. It is
masterpiece that moves the heart OF
those who see It acted. even though
they may not understand a word Of
Greek.
The training Of the students Is left
for their academic instructors They
are required to read and reread good
English version till they are familiar
with the story Of the play, the action
ii demands and the emotions that are
excited After some competition for
parts they are assigned in accordance
with the material that offers, certain
requirements having to be considered.
Ajax must be the largest and tallest of
all, Odysseus shorter; Agamemnon tall
and handsome; the messenger fleet: the
attendants strong enough TO shoulder
Ajax after the death scene; Tecmessa
pathetic and slight; her attendants
pretty and graceful. These physical re
quirements have been fairly met
among the students and graduates at
Berkeley. Miss Barrows herself takes
the part Of Teemessa.
Then comes the learning Of the lines,
no small task when 100 or more lines
must become so thoroughly familiar
that they trip from the tongue with
ease and fuency, sounding like poetry
Added to this difficulty III the fact that
the modern Greek pronunciation is
used In this production The accepted
pronunciation Of the university Is the
old Erasmian, but on account Of It's
superior musical quality, especially for
singing Miss Barrows prefers the liv-
ing pronunciation
It was the Joy of giving play in an
outdoor setting that induced Miss Bar
rows TO cross the continent in the heat
Of summer and spend two months
drilling the students in their lines. |
dances and singing. Every day and all
day long she may be found III the
beautiful theater training the actors
by ones and twos or In larger groups, |
In spite Of the hundreds Of wayfarers,
Templars, Odd Fellows and ordinary
tourists who wander up the hill to see
this new California wonder nestled
among the trees, which are even In.
debted 10 the Greek for the very names