KHAMELEON PRODUCTIONS

PRESENTS:

MEDEA
EURIPIDES translated by BEN
POWER
Bidding for the Keble O’Reilly Theatre TT18 WEEK 5

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 CONTENTS:
Synopsis -
Team Bios –
Director’s Statement –
Producer’s Statement –
Set Design Statement & Sketches –
Costume & Makeup Statement –
Lighting Statement –
Sound & Music Statement –
Marketing Statement –
Budget –

Primary Contacts:
Rishem Khattar (producer) – [email protected]
Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (director) – francesca.amewudah-
[email protected]

Production:
Medea by Euripides, translated by Ben Powers
Run time – c. 90 mins (no interval)
Cast size – 19 total (7 individual speaking roles, up to 8 chorus, 4
guards/dancers)
Requested slot – Week 5 Trinity Term 2018 (5 performances)
Projected Expenditure - £2,434.30
Projected Breakeven – 30.74%
Rights – Confirmed availability
SYNOPSIS

“You think that I might be a witch? That I might be a strange, dangerous monster?
Because I wasn’t born here and because I am woman.”

The scene is set in the Greek city of Corinth. Jason has abandoned his wife, Medea, and their two
children. He is planning the wedding arrangements for his remarrying with Kreusa, the daughter of
Kreon, king of Corinth, with the hope that this marriage will bring him security and prosperity.

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News spreads of Medea’s hateful cursing of her husband and his new fiancé. Fearing a possible plot
of revenge, Kreon banishes Medea and her children from Corinth. After pleading for mercy, Medea is
allowed one day before she must leave, during which she plans to complete her quest for "justice"—
killing Kreusa and Kreon with a wedding gift covered in poison, before committing the final
gruesome act of killing her own children. The play concludes with Medea’s triumphant escape to
Athens leaving Jason alone and distraught - without a wife, without a home and without children.

Medea is not just a story about gods and kings, myths and legends, dragons and golden fleeces, but
about love, family, betrayal and justice. Beneath the wails and passionate outcries is a woman who
has been deeply wronged by society, and the themes of isolation, belonging and power become more
and more prevalent as the events unfold.

TEAM BIOGRAPHIES
Producer: Rishem Khattar
Rishem is a second year Classicist at Balliol College. She has co-produced the Balliol Charity Musical,
Cinderella: A Cinderella Story (Pilch HT17), and it was a huge success, as £1250 was raised for charity from
ticket sales and donations alone. After dabbling into the theatre world, Rishem decided to delve even further and
production managed and stage-managed Christie in Love (Pilch TT17) and she worked with an experienced
team, learning necessary skills required to succeed in the production world. She also co-produced Playlliol // A
View from the Bridge (Pilch TT17) and later produced Lady in the Sheets (Pilch MT17) which managed to sell
out every night. She has worked at the Pilch for 4 projects and feels that she has a good grasp of how this venue
works as a stage. She was also production manager on the team for Volpone (Keble O’Reilly MT17). Outside of
theatre, Rishem was Assistant President on the Balliol Ball Committee for 2017, so she has a skillset very well
catered for production as she is able to lead a team well and has reliable time-management skills.

Director: Francesca Amewudah-Rivers

Francesca is in her second year studying Music at St John's College. During her time at Oxford, she has acted in
Four Lions (Michael Pilch Studio, HT16), The Parakeets (Burton Taylor Studio, HT16), Little Shop of Horrors
(Oxford Playhouse, TT17), Pomona (Keble O'Reilly, TT17), Bacchae (Edinburgh Fringe 2017), Random
(Burton Taylor Studio, MT17) and Beautiful Thing (Michael Pilch, HT18). She is also assistant directing Hedda
at the Oxford Playhouse this term. Aside from student theatre, Francesca spent her gap year working with the
National Youth Theatre performing as an actor and a musician at the Royal Court Theatre (London) and the
Shaftesbury Theatre (West End). Francesca has trained under the National Youth Theatre’s Musical Director
Tristan Parkes, to compose for and assistant sound design their 60th anniversary gala. Francesca is one of the
co-founders of the newly formed Oxford BAME drama society, a supportive platform to increase diversity in
the Oxford student drama scene.

Assistant Director: Taiwo Ava Oyebola

Taiwo Ava Oyebola is a second year reading Classics at Wadham College. Having had a passion for drama
since attending drama school at the age of 5, Taiwo has sought to fully immerse herself in Oxford’s drama
scene. As a result, in her first term she was part of a team that represented her college in OUDS Drama
Cuppers’, which she also helped to market, leading them to win the award for Best Marketing. In her first year
she was the Marketing Manager for Wadham’s production of The Threepenny Opera, Pomona and random
which all produced sold-out shows. Last term, she took to the stage in the experimental play, Lady in the Sheets

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at the Pilch. Taiwo is also President of Oxford ACS [African and Caribbean Society] and is also part of the
Oxford BAME Drama Society HQ.

Assistant Producer: Krishan Emmanuel

Krishan Emmanuel is a first year Classics & Oriental Studies undergraduate at Balliol College. Krishan was
assistant producer for Lady in the Sheets (Pilch, MT17) as well as director/producer/sound & lighting tech for
Cuppers, the play Blackout (Burton Taylor, MT17). He has previously directed an evening of monologues
before coming to Oxford and has had several years of prior acting experience, in both musicals and plays such
as Cyrano de Bergerac and Hamlet. He is also acting as assistant producer for the upcoming musical adaptation
of Peter Pan (Pilch, HT18) and setting up his own production company.

Production Manager: Tracey Mwaniki

Tracey Mwaniki is a first year undergraduate studying Law at St Anne’s College. Tracey was an Assistant Stage
Manager for Candide (Playhouse, MT17) and Producer of a production of 12 Angry Men submitted for Drama
Cuppers 2017 (BT Studio, MT17). Upcoming roles include being Assistant Programme Manager for Hedda
(Playhouse, HT18). Prior to her time at Oxford, she acted as Script Supervisor and Producer for her school’s
annual Junior Drama performance.

Production Advisor: Christina Hill

Christina is a third year reading Classics at St Hugh’s College. Last term she production-managed Bacchae
(Oxford Playhouse, MT17), and designed the set for Candide (Oxford Playhouse, MT17), and she is currently
designing the set for TEDxOxford 2018 (New Theatre, HT18), costumes for Hereafter by Chloe Taylor (North
Wall, TT18), lighting for Shock Therapy (New Writing Festival, Burton Taylor Studio, HT18), and preparing to
stage manage Hedda (Oxford Playhouse, HT18). She has designed costumes for Sweet Charity (Oxford
Playhouse, HT18); Doctor Faustus, a new musical by Sarah Wright and John Paul (Edinburgh Fringe 2017;
OSO Arts Centre), which she also production-managed; Pomona (Keble O’Reilly, TT17); The Nether (Oxford
Playhouse, MT16); Anything Goes (Oxford Playhouse, MT16); Twelfth Night (Worcester Gardens, TT16);
Fahrenheit 451 (Michael Pilch Studio, TT16); RENT (Oxford Playhouse, HT16); The Changing of the Guard by
Shomit Dutta (Keble O’Reilly, HT16). She is also currently on the TAFF committee as Secretary, on the OUDS
committee as Workshops rep, and is the Treasurer of St Hugh’s Arts Society.

Set Design: Lewis Hunt

Lewis is a second year English student at St Hugh’s College. He has a keen interest in production, recently
working for an interactive artist who aimed to assemble a ‘Singing Building’. Whilst in Oxford he’s worked as
Production Manager and Set Designer for Krapp's Last Tape/Rockaby (BT, HT17) Costume Designer for
Phedré (New College, TT17) Set Designer for both Lady in the Sheets (The Pilch, MT17) and The Flick (The
Pilch, HT18) and Producer for God of Carnage (BT, MT17).

Set Design: Isabella Rooney

Isabella is a second-year History undergraduate at St. Peter’s College. Having studied Drama and Theatre at A-
Level, she has previous experience in the creation of sets. Whilst at Oxford, Isabella designed and helped
construct the set for The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Keble O’Reilly, MT17), and is now excited to continue her
experience of set design. She has also been involved in A Girl in a Car with a Man (Pilch, MT17) and a
Cupper’s performance of Constellations (BT, MT16) as a marketing director, designing visual materials for the
promotion of these productions. As well as acting in the latter, she additionally acted in A Midsummer Night’s
Dream (St Peter’s Gardens, TT17). Isabella hopes to combine her experience of set design with that of
marketing and acting in order to design a unique and dynamic space to match the distinctiveness of this project.

Lighting Design: Linette Chan

Makeup & Costume Design: Shivaike Shah

Shivaike Shah is a second year student studying English Literature at University College. In his time at Oxford,
he has completed over a dozen shows and films, mostly as a costume designer and makeup artist. He has
completed two Oxford Playhouse shows, Little Shop of Horrors (2017) and Suddenly Last Summer (2017), the

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latter of which required drag and special makeup. For Frankenstein (2016), he managed complicated prosthetic
makeup, and undertook ageing makeup for Summer and Smoke (2016) and Lovesong (2017). He was the
Makeup artist and Costumier for As You Like It in association with Thelma Holt, the OUDS Drama tour which
performed at various venues including the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Design Assistant: Lorraine Dindi

Lorraine is a first-year law student at Trinity College. She was a member of the drama club in high school, and
took on many different roles both as an actor and offstage during her time there. She directed a production of
Hamlet (March 2016), had a minor role in Pride and Prejudice (December 2016) which enabled her to also work
on set and costumes, and helped with the staging for Sarafina (April 2017). Lorraine worked as an English
Literature teaching assistant which enabled her to organise play readings and discussions, allowing her to
familiarise herself with drama and how it is meant to be performed.

Marketing Manager: Nina Crisp

Nina is a second year undergraduate studying Classics and French at Lady Margaret Hall. She has worked with
others to publicise the Oxford French Play, La Machine Infernale (Simpkins Lee, TT17), and was an assistant
stage manager for the New Writing Festival (BT, HT 2017). She was responsible for the marketing of Glitterball
2018, in collaboration with the LGBTQ+ Society, at the 2017 Fresher's Fair, and has publicised events for the
OU Dancesport Club. She has reviewed and featured books and theatre on her blog, Death, Books, and Tea, and
was nominated for the UKYABB Champion of Diversity. She has also written for the Cherwell and the
Guardian.
Marketing Assistant: Zeynab Alwi
Zeynab is a second year studying English at Mansfield College. During her time in Oxford she has worked on
marketing for the production of Ishtar, Mansfield Arts Week and other committees she is part of. Being involved
with the production of Medea next term is the perfect opportunity for Zeynab to combine her passion for drama
with the experience she has gained over the year. As someone who has been working to increase diversity in
other aspects of university life, Medea is particularly exciting for her as it centres on important narratives which
often lack representation in theatre.

MARKETING Assistant: Georgina Ramsay

Georgina Ramsay is a second year reading English and French at The Queen’s College. She was marketing
assistant for Sweet Charity (Hilary 2018), her first production in Oxford. After her experience with Sweet
Charity she is excited to be a marketing assistant for Medea, her first production in Oxford. She has been
performing since the age of eight, starting with her local theatre school and then getting involved in Drama
during secondary school and sixth form. In her spare time, she is a keen theatre-goer and writes reviews and
interviews for online publication, Afridiziak Theatre News. She is also Director of ‘For Colored Girls’ (bidding
for TT17).

MARKETING Assistant: Ramani Chandramohan

Ramani Chandramohan is a second-year undergraduate studying Classics and French at St Anne’s College. In
her first year at Oxford, she was involved in the production and performance in French of Jean Cocteau’s La
Machine Infernale, a 1930s play based on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (Simpkins Lee, TT 2017). She has also
worked in the Marketing and Access departments of the Oxford Greek Play, the Bacchae (Playhouse, MT
2017). Ramani has been involved in representing BME students as part of St Anne’s team on the current series
of University Challenge and she is the JCR BME representative for her college. She has written for Cherwell
and the Oxford Student and is a Publications Assistant for Oxford Writers’ House.

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DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Euripides’ Medea is the archetypal revenge tragedy. There are few female roles in Western theatre of
such complexity, depth and ambiguity. However considering the historical context of the play, this is
paradoxical; women were almost excluded from Athenian political and legal life, and Athenian
tragedy was written in a patriarchal society by men, for a male audience and for performance by male
actors. The radical nature of the play in subverting societal norms is what makes it unique and topical.
The modern setting of Ben Power’s translation which premiered at the National Theatre in 2014, was
current, relevant and all the more harrowing; I was left feeling appalled yet strangely elated. Medea
was no longer a dramatic figure of the ancient world stagnant in my mind, she had become a timeless
tangible force of expression and protest. It is this revolutionary notion that is the force behind our
vision for the production.
One of the main themes of the play is that of identity. Medea is not only an exploration of the female
identity (tragic ‘feminity’ has long been identified by scholars as a ‘problem’), but it also covers the
notion of belonging. Medea is a Black Sea barbarian, a foreigner residing in a land that is not her
‘home’ - in fact her homeland provided slaves for Greece. Our vision is to position these themes of
identity and belonging at the forefront of our production, linking them specifically to the BME (black
and minority ethnic) experience. Our team is made up of an entirely BME crew and we hope to be
exclusive in our casting; auditions will be open only to students who identify as BME. In creating a
safe space for students of colour to audition, we hope to attract more interest and engage more of the
BME student community. The cultural breadth within our cast and crew will be the focal point of the
production. Our vision is to include music, movement and spoken word in the four main ‘Chorus’
sections as a celebration of the diversity of student creatives in Oxford both on and off stage. Referred
to by Medea as ‘Women of Corinth’, the Greek Chorus plays a key role in aiding the narrative of the
play. They are a constant presence on stage, both as a reflection of the different facets of Medea’s
personality and also acting as the voice of the audience at times.
We are familiar with death in Greek tragedy, yet Medea is especially sinister. She is the only Greek
tragic murderer who decides to kill during the course of the play, forcing the audience to watch every
methodical step in her grim psychological journey to committing the ultimate crime – infanticide. In
order to effectively portray the darker elements of the narrative, we wish to bring out the horror within
the play through use of lighting and sound, supporting the setting of a dark forest. In keeping with the
‘Old vs New’ dichotomy that putting on a modern adaptation of a play of classical antiquity creates,
we wish to fully utilise the play’s horror genre to explore the modern-day horrors of racial politics.
Much of my vision for this production is inspired by Jordan Peele’s 2017 horror movie ‘Get Out’,
which is based on many of the themes found in Medea such as identity, trust and relationships, but
also explores the politics of power and the concept of white supremacy. To experiment with this
notion, we wish to play with absence, replacing on stage physical bodies with light, and using off-
stage, surround-sound voices to represent menacing unseen figures of power within the script, such as
Kreon the King of Corinth.
WHY THE O’REILLY
Medea is not just a play about fidelity, family and revenge, but an inquiry into the psyche of those
most marginalised by society and a psychological examination of how anyone can be sufficiently
inflamed by insult, loss and the threat of isolation to slaughter the people they most love. We hope
that through our production of this tragedy, we will be able to harness the themes of the play with an
exploration of the BME identity.

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PRODUCER’S STATEMENT
Having produced a few Pilch plays in my time at Oxford, bringing a play like Medea with this
particular vision to the O’Reilly stage, where the technical capabilities and expansive staging are
much superior to other smaller theatres in Oxford, means that we hope to be able to perfect our vision
with a wonderful BME crew working on this project.

As we are bidding for 5th week, auditions and call-backs will be held in 6 th week of this term so that
the actors can look over the script over the Easter vacation and get a feel for their characters and the
director can also hone in on her vision, ahead of rehearsals starting in 0th week of Trinity. One of my
most important roles will be to organise an intense rehearsal schedule so that we can get the play
incredibly fluid and slick in time for 5 performances. The cast size for this production will be around
19 people, including 7 main speaking roles and 8 chorus roles. I am confident that with the wide
variety of abilities and skills on our crew, every aspect of the show will come to life in the O’Reilly
theatre making it the spectacle that we hope to create for a wider audience to see.

Our marketing strategy is incredibly important, as we recognise the extra effort required to attract as
many people as possible, especially the minority ethnic student body. For this reason, we have a large
marketing team of four, to ensure that our main target areas of online, press and events will be
sufficiently covered. One of the biggest selling points of this play is that it has an all BME cast and
crew, which has never been done before in Oxford. To address this, we hope to have a panel session
leading up to the show, discussing the main themes of the play and the BME experience in the theatre
industry. This will hopefully include some of our own cast, as well as professors and external
speakers. Furthermore, we want to reach out to the cast of Medea performed at the National Theatre in
2014, as we too are using Ben Power’s script. Social media will also be a huge part of our marketing
platform. Medea is also part of the Classics’ finalist course for those studying Greek Tragedy, so we
will target our marketing towards those students, highlighting the academic significance of the play.

Our budget is quite large because rights alone are £500, but we strongly believe that Ben Power’s
script is the perfect translation to bring out the themes of belonging and identity, resonating with our
cast and crew and hopefully the audience too. In terms of the production itself, we want the set and
costume to look immaculate to ensure that the visual effect resonates throughout the theatre. Our
budget for sound and lighting will be minimal as the O’Reilly already has the technical capability of

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what we require. As we are setting the stage front-on, we will have maximum seating capacity so
breaking-even will not be a problem as we are confident that people will want to see a new side of
student drama that hasn’t been done before in Oxford.

We are extremely passionate about this project and hope that people will be inspired to come and see
it, and we hope to see more people from minority communities joining the drama scene through
Medea and beyond.

SET DESIGN STATEMENT + SKETCHES

In order to allow the play to explore Medea's sense of alienation and dislocation, the set will help
construct this sense of entrapment and isolation. Drawing on the horror genre, in particular from
Jordan Peele's ‘Get Out’, the set will be unsettling and intimidating, reflecting the fear felt by the
characters and imparting this to the audience.
The set will consist of tall monolithic tree trunks, whose arrangement will be stark and sparse. They
will aim to induce this aspect of horror, as well as providing an ambiguous and threatening presence -
visually birch works well for both scale and practicality. We will be aiming to have a symbiotic
relationship between the trees and the lighting, whether by increasing the visual space of the forest
through shadows, or emphasizing a cold and silent arrangement.
Taking up the other part of the stage, which will remain relatively bare, will be a cage object which
aims to juxtapose the organic with the industrial. This will potentially be constructed out of preowned

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trolley cages which can be salvaged relatively cheaply. This works on a metaphorical level for
Medea’s condition, not to mention as her abode in the play. It will also work thematically in contrast
with the phallic and imposing trees, providing a sanctuary.
The use of costume, chorus and movement is key to the design of this production. Having a set which
is at once imposing and sparse will enable for a dynamic interaction between actors and space,
enabling an exploration of the themes the set helps to convey.

Birch tree sources : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Decorative-logs-fantastic-birch-tree-tops-in-birch-

log-stands/323008908101?_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.DEFAULT%26ao
%3D1%26asc%3D49895%26meid%3Dd7ddf9a41e49459784292c16da466d9b%26pid
%3D100752%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D323008908430%26itm
%3D323008908101&_trksid=p2047675.c100752.m1982
http://www.woodnet.org.uk/woodlots/round-timber-for-sale
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/526248280/birch-forked-poles?
ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=birch
%20poles&ref=sr_gallery-1-1

COSTUME & MAKEUP DESIGN STATEMENT

All blacks seems, without much thought, an easy ‘out’ for a costume designer, but it can be a
powerful artistic choice. This production will need to constantly assess the aesthetic balance of what
is being presented to the audience. With the movement, spoken word, and large cast, as a Costumiere,
I am aware that overwhelming the stage with numerous costumes will likely only detract from the
other messages Fran wants to put forward through this production. All blacks also does not mean that
there won’t be uniformity, thought, and design put into each costume. It is a colour palette, or lack
thereof, that has been the staple for the best designers for centuries. We will instead be focusing on
shape, fit, and cut rather than colour and design.

Medea will be the only character with colour in her costume. To reflect the gradual unravelling of
Medea’s psyche, and to represent her breaking free from the societal oppression that has suffocated
her, it is fitting that red is the colour eventually unveiled in her costume. A colour that holds the
obvious connotations of blood and danger, it is also an intrinsically female colour in fashion and
makeup. It has been used for the last century in the name of female empowerment, moving away from
its Victorian connotations of promiscuity to, in the runways of the last year, a colour that is being
actively claimed by women to show a similar desire for freedom.

This show will by no means be aesthetically bare. As both the costume designer and makeup artist, as
much as I have minimalised the aesthetic of the costumes, I have emphasised the importance of
makeup and art. Drawing on the ideas of Greek masks, artivism, and the art of Ori (made famous
through Beyonce’s Lemonade), the chorus and Medea will be covered in intricately designed body
and face paint, done in stark contrast to the skin tone of the actor. As can be seen in the reference
photos below, though we cannot achieve this level of intricacy, inspiration will be drawn from this
artistic adornment of the body to empower and individualise the characters. This not only necessitates
further the all black costumes, but will bring the unique and powerful aesthetic to this play that will
only enhance its diverse and culturally respectful vision.

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CONCEPT PHOTOS:

LIGHTING DESIGN
STATEMENT
Medea is a story of rejection, alienation, and passion. The lighting for this show will help to
create an ominous atmosphere, making use of shadows and contrasts. In particular, we plan to
use haze to create a sense of confusion and foreboding. Sidelights will be used to cast
shadows of the set pieces, and the interplay of overheads and sidelights will help to set the
tone.

The lack of clear scene divisions in the play gives rise to a sense of inevitability characteristic
of Greek tragedy. To complement this, most lighting transitions will be gradual, creating the
sense of time slowly passing. The few quick transitions will then stand out all the more,
helping to highlight the pivotal moments in the play.

The play opens with Medea’s abandonment and exile. The lighting state at the start of the
play will reflect this with cold colours and dimmed lights, building to the dramatic
introduction of the king.  Kreon, the king who exiles Medea, will be represented using a
bright white spotlight, which changes from one spot to another, darting about the stage, as
though marking his territory, picking Medea out to create a sense of interrogation and
intimidation. Coordination with sound effects will emphasise the power differential between
the two.

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As the play continues, Medea gradually regains her agency, swearing her revenge. The lights
will gradually brighten, building to the wedding scene where Medea watches a colourful
celebration of cultural dance and movement performed by the chorus. The cheerful
atmosphere of the wedding will be contrasted with low lighting on Medea, and will cut
suddenly to a single spotlight on her as she contemplates the murder of her sons,
complemented by red lighting to build the intensity of the moment. Finally, over her last
confrontation with Jason, the backlights will gradually grow in intensity, creating silhouetted
figures towards the end of their conversation. As Jason leaves, Medea will be the sole focus
of the lights, and the bright white light that previously represented Kreon’s power will now
be focused on her. Coordinating with the actor’s blocking, the light will now be controlled by
Medea and move in synchrony with her actions, following her exit.

To complement the stylised set design, lighting will be used to mark the separation between
the setting of the forest, using cooler tones and wider angles to create an outdoor night-time
look, and Medea’s house/cage, where warmer and more intense tones as well as more
concentrated lighting will be used to create a sense of claustrophobic closeness.

MARKETING STATEMENT

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The crew of Medea are hoping to involve people from diverse backgrounds to get involved with the
show, and participation is not limited to the cast and crew: the audience is just as important. With
access and outreach being an important aspect of our marketing campaign, and online, press and
events being our main focus areas, we are confident that our strong marketing team of four comprised
of students from mixed backgrounds and experiences will maximise the effectiveness of our
marketing campaign.

The play will have an active online presence, providing regular updates with the production. Both the
auditions and the play itself will be advertised, with Facebook providing the mechanism to easily
convey, display, and share updates. With a network of college reps, we aim to get announcements for
the auditions and the production itself posted in every JCR group. We will also liaise with POC
college representatives and society groups, such as the ACS, CRAE, the Chinese Students Society, the
Sikh society, and ISoc, to ensure our message reaches the BME students we are hoping to cast. We
will work with departments and drama societies in order to publicise the play: we will place an
advertisement in the OUDS weekly newsletter, and work with the Classics, Modern Languages,
English, and History departments, whose members we think will particularly be interested in our
production, to publicise in their mailing lists as well.

As a team featuring two JCR BME/Persons of Colour representatives and a representative for the
charity STAR (Student Action for Refugees), we are extremely well placed to collaborate with BME
college reps and BME university-wide societies to promote the play. We would also be able to
explore the issues around mental health presented by Medea through a talk or workshop with Asha
Iqbal, from Generation Reform, a charity that aims to combat the stigma around mental health in
BME communities. One member of the Marketing Team has already been working with Asha to host
an event for Mental Health Awareness Week at St Anne’s College.

Our Facebook page will be the main source of information, as it is a cost effective, easily accessible
way of spreading information. It will also notify those who are interested in the play of our regular
updates. We will provide rehearsal photos and videos, including interviews with the cast and crew, to
give prospective audiences hints of what they will experience should they come to our production.

Our offline presence is also important. We will produce A3 posters and A5 leaflets, which will be
placed in every college, as well as in key public areas not affiliated with the university, such as
libraries, cafes, and public flyer stands.

We will work with external print media. We will work with Oxford student papers, such as the Oxford
Student and the Cherwell, to be featured in previews, potentially two weeks before the show to ensure
the writers and editors have enough time to publish their articles before the show's run begins. We
will also contact reviewers from Cherwell, the Oxford Student, and Oxford Opening Night, as early in
the run as possible, as well as making contact with external BME focussed magazines, such as gal-
dem and Melanmag.

Additionally, we will seek to encourage engagement with and reflection on themes within the
production by hosting a series of events. We will host a public screening of Jordan Peele's "Get Out",
with the cast and crew present, as it asks questions about identity and white supremacy, as our
production will do. We would like to invite a range of professionals from the theatre and film sectors,
to participate in panel discussions or conversations, to discuss themes from the script, and the role of
BME participants in theatre. In particular, we would look to engage with the cast members of the
2014 National Theatre Production, to compare our interpretations of Ben Powers' script.

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MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN STATEMENT (director’s vision):

My vision for sound is to enrich the epic, surreal and tragic narrative of the play, utilising sound to
reinforce the horror genre whilst maintaining a sense of cohesion between each scene. The image of a
dystopian, isolated forest is at the heart of the play, and the vast space and technical strength of the
O’Reilly provides an exciting opportunity to create a diverse sonic world, merging conventional
sounds with cultural inflections.

Essentially, the soundscape of the play will consist of a series of tracks to support live vocal song
paired with horror influenced electronic sound design for moments of suspense and to reinforce the
eerie acoustics and sounds of the forest. The tracks will be a mixture of existing songs of popular
culture (which we would obtain rights to) and original composition. My intention is to compose a rich
gospel anthem, modernising the ancient Greek notion of religion. This would be performed at the
opening and close of the play in a live acapella fashion by the chorus, whose versatility as a dramatic
device enables us to experiment with different forms of expression such as spoken word, rap and
acapella song as a commentary on the plays narrative action. Therefore, for the chorus, we will be
looking to cast a collective of up to 8 female creatives who are also strong ensemble/ individual
singers. Our vision is to edit the chorus text, replacing it with student-written spoken word based on
the themes of each chorus: infidelity, revenge, isolation, death and prayer. To enforce the use of live
vocal music further, we will use three mics: two on stage for the chorus to sing through at various
points within the play, and one offstage to generate an impression of an omnipotent unseen sonic
presence. The latter will potentially be connected to added portable speakers installed around the
theatre to create a surround-sound effect. We will also position two djembe drums hidden within the
set for chorus members to easily access and play during the chorus scenes when required.

The success of the chorus will rely heavily on productive use of rehearsal time, to ensure that the
ensemble is as tight as possible. For this reason I would like to begin Chorus rehearsals as soon as the
play has been cast, so that members will have the opportunity to get to know each other and the music
and begin to build the ensemble relationship before the end of term.

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Medea is an ambitious project, and I am excited by the prospect of using sound to underscore the
narrative arc of cultural exploration, merging live music with recorded sound to bring this spectacle to
life.

BUDGET :

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