‘The Trojan Women’ to depict war suffering

Celina Chapin knows Rome wasn’t built in a day.

But as director of “The Trojan Women,” a tragic Euripides play that expresses female suffering during war, she proves it only takes about two weeks to recreate ancient Greece on stage.

Production began during exams in December but winter break, conflicting class schedules and illnesses led to several last-minute changes in “The Trojan Women” performance.

“I went into this project wanting to control everything, but at this point I just realize that you can’t,” Chapin, a junior, said. “I started to accept the challenges because a little bit of resistance forces you to be more creative.”

Chapin said she wanted to put together a performance before she leaves UNC in February to study in Prague. She chose “The Trojan Women” for its strong female roles.

Seema Shukla, 23, who plays Hecuba, said she found emotional parallels between the women of ancient Greece and modern victims of war.

“I’ve been relating to the play much more than I thought I would,” Shukla said. “You see the desperation and helplessness that one can feel in these matters.”

Though traditionally performed with a chorus to provide continuity, “The Trojan Women” lost those actors to cases of the flu and changing class schedules.

Juniors Ellis Driver and Johnny Reis teamed up to create shadow puppets to replace the chorus.

“The process has been stressful but still definitely fun,” Driver said. “We’ve put in 10 hours to making them, and it’s all been in the past few days.”

Lucius Robinson, who graduated in December, had to step in to play the role of Menelaus on the last day of preparation.

“It’s my first day,” he said at the Wednesday rehearsal, two days before the play’s premiere.

Chapin said Robinson was able to pick up the script and memorize lines quickly.

“I went from feeling like I couldn’t do this play anymore to having it almost completed in a day,” she said.

The play sticks closely to the original version and premieres in Bingham Hall’s Blackbox, where the black walls and small stage create minimal scenery. Chapin said she hopes the audience focuses on the actors’ channeling of women enslaved during war.

Though stressful, the group has enjoyed overcoming its difficult timeline.

“I’m definitely showing up at the dress rehearsal with a bag of Emergen-C and making everyone drink it,” Chapin said.

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