The UC San Diego Department Of Theatre And Dance Presents ELEKTRA By Sophocles

The UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance presents Elektra by Sophocles, translated by Timberlake Wertenbaker and directed by Juliana Kleist-Mendez.

About the play: Elektra finds herself in an endless circus orchestrated by her father's murderers: her mother, The Queen, and her mother's lover who masquerades as The New King. Elektra cannot take part in the charade of happiness and rages against the court, waiting for her exiled brother, Orestes to return and avenge their father. Through music, movement, and the female voice, Elektra takes us inside the toxic cycles of violence that plagued the Ancient Greeks and continue as national spectacle today.

The preview for Elektra will be December 2 at 7:30 pm. The show runs December 4, 5, 6, and 7 at 7:30 pm with an additional 2 pm matinee performance on December 7.

All shows take place at the Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre. Tickets are $20 for regular performances. Subscriptions and group rates are available. Student tickets are $10 for regular performances. Faculty, staff, alumni and senior citizens discounts available as well. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the box office at (858) 534-4574.

The cast features Savanna Padilla (Elektra), Anthony Adu (Orestes), Amara Granderson (Clytemnestra), Lee Vignes (Tutor/King), India Gurley-Williams (Chorus Lead), Vita Muccia (Chrysothemis), Amir Aftabi (Pylades), Sophia Donner (Chorus), Adriana Lopez (Chorus), and India Williams (Chorus).

The production staff includes Juliana Kleist-Mendez (Director), Nicholas Ponting (Scenic Designer), Daniella Toscano (Costume Designer), Justin Beets (Lighting Designer), Andrew Lynch (Sound Designer/Composer), Kristin Leadbetter (Dramaturg), Madison Mae Williams (Music Director), Dean Collins (Assistant Lighting Designer), Natalie Calderon (Assistant Director), Elizabeth Barrett (Assistant Scenic Designer), Michael Kalisz (Assistant Scenic Designer), Topaz Cooks (Production Stage Manager), Gemma Maliszewski (Assistant Stage Manager), Katherine McLeod (Assistant Stage Manager), Hinako Nishikawa (Production Assistant), and Karina Vera (Production Assistant).

About the director: Juliana Kleist-Méndez is a second-year MFA Directing student previously based in Brooklyn, NY. She is an Iowa-born Cuban American committed to embodied storytelling collaborations. Selected credits: Far From Canterbury (Winner of Best Musical: New York International Fringe Festival; Encores! at The SoHo Playhouse); La hija del pirata/The Pirate's Daughter (La Pirata Productions); Club Silencio with the Cuban Cultural Center of New York (Manhattan Theater Company); Elvira: The Immigration Play with Si Se Puede Productions (Lehman College, Collaboraction Theatre Company, Chicago); King Lear: A Radio Play (The Framework Theatre, Chicago). BA in Theater for Social Change from Cornell University. UC San Diego credits: Duchess! Duchess! Duchess! for WNPF 2019.