While reading Iphigenia to discover my directorial approach, I tried to focus on the one idea that came across most often. It soon became clear that this play takes place in a world where men come first and women are an afterthought. Agamemnon has many lines that illustrate this point. During the course of the play he says, “And you women keep silent. Enough!”, “Girls should not know such things,” and “Do you know what you must do, lady? Do what I ask.” The most straightforward of these thoughts is when he tells his wife “a wise man should keep in his home a good and helpful wife or not keep one at all.” Even Iphigenia claims that “one man has greater claim to see the sunlight than ten thousand women.” The perception of women being subservient to men and a woman’s place being in the home is evident throughout history. I tried to pin point a time when this attitude was widely accepted by both men and women and decided that the mid to late 1950’s was when this feeling peaked before women realized they were more than a man’s belonging. 1950’s American television epitomized this role playing. I am setting my production of Iphigenia in a 1950’s television sitcom when men told their wives and daughters what to do and they gladly obeyed without a second thought.

I would like the actors to be in 1950’s period costumes complete with pearls and an apron for Clytemnestra. The set will look like a park or forest. However, it is very important that the set look as if it is from a television show that is set outdoors but filmed on a sound stage. The grass should be astroturf, the flowers should be plastic and the tress should look artificial. The stage is to have three walls with a door cut out of each wall on stage left and stage right. The back wall and stage left wall will have a scenic wallpaper mural depicting a forest or trees while the stage right wall should be a mural showing the ocean. The proscenium of the stage will be built to look like the front of a 1950’s style television. Possibly, the audience seating will consist of couches, easy chairs and coffee and side tables to add to the effect of watching a television show in a living room.

I see the acting style as very precise. I want the actors to look at the script as if it was a comedy. This would be a light version of a Greek tragedy. Several lines can be very comical if they are said with that intent. Lines like Agamemnon’s “a wise man should keep in his home a good and helpful wife or not keep one at all,” will be followed by a laugh track. The stakes are not high in my production and there will be an overwhelming layer of camp. When Iphigenia is told that she is to be sacrificed, the actress should play that as if she was just told that she cannot go to the prom. When Clytemnestra has her first scene with Achilles, they should be playing it as if it is a miscommunication that one would see on Three’s Company. This is a light comedy. When Clytemnestra accepts her daughter’s death, the actress’ subtext should be “kids, what’s the matter with kids today” from Bye Bye Birdie-exasperation not tragedy.

This brings me to casting. I see the family as an amalgamation of television sitcom families where father wears the pants and he knows best. In an ideal casting world, Clytemnestra would be played by Barbara Billingsley (June Cleaver, Leave it to Beaver), the wise mother who feels obligated to side with her husband even if she may not agree with him. Iphigenia says to her mother, “Do not hate my father-he is your husband.” Agamemnon would be played by Robert Young (Jim Anderson, Father Knows Best). He is a father who wants what's best for his family but maybe is more concerned with his son Bud than his daughter Betty. Iphigenia would be played by Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady, The Brady Bunch), the teenage daughter who is a good girl, yearns to be popular and will do anything to make her father proud of her. Achilles would be played by Max Baer (Jethro Bodine, The Beverly Hillbillies), the good-looking but dumb lug who easily falls prey to those smarter than him. The role of Menelaus would be played by Bill Daily (Major Roger Healey, I Dream of Jeannie), a man who gets caught up in the wackiness that surrounds him. I would change the role of the Old Man into a maid and it would be played by Shirley Booth (Hazel Burke, Hazel). Maids and servants on television sitcoms, although subservient, know everything that is happening in the family unit and usually know more than their bosses. (If Ms. Booth is unavailable a call should be put in to Ann B. Davis who played Alice on The Brady Bunch.) The chorus would be condensed to two women and much of their dialogue would be cut and some of it would be given to the role of the Maid. In particular the lines where the chorus is praising Iphigenia’s bravery at the end of the play. I think that would have more heart coming from the Maid. The two chorus parts would be played by Sandra Gould (Mrs. Kravitz, Bewitched) and Edie McClurg (Mrs. Poole, Valerie’s Family). I think having the chorus as the stereotypical nosy neighbor would serve the purpose well. They would always be on stage observing what was happening and it would be easy for them to pass on the information to the audience as the latest gossip. The final speech by the Messenger would be delivered by these two parts as well. With this cast of actors, the comedy would come through in this play. Of course I would have to settle for actors who could emulate the characteristics of these well know television icons.

Finally, I would like there to be very specific pre-show and curtain call music. The music playing when the house is opened should be classic sitcom theme songs. When the show starts, the house lights will dim and the audience will hear the song “Roller Coaster” by Les Baxter (on c.d.). There would be a screen concealing the stage and appearing to be the screen of the television. On it, a video plays with a montage of the family in various scenes; eating breakfast, at the store or park, decorating a Christmas tree, etc. while the opening credits play introducing the actors and their roles. The screen would pull away to reveal the set and the text would begin. At the end of the show, the curtain call music would be “Shooting Star” also by Les Baxter (on c.d.).

I realize this directorial approach is very far-fetched. However, with the right cast and the support of a design team that believes in the concept, I feel this could be a very successful production of Iphigenia. It was important for me to incorporate interests of mine into this play. Being a fan of classic television, I think I could utilize that interest into something that ordinarily does not relate. By making this Greek tragedy into something completely different, it could open up the possibility that people who are not usually interested in Greek tragedy may find it very entertaining. After all, who wouldn’t want to see Iphigenia being played by Marcia Brady?