Peace Educator Holds Talkback With Teen Actors At Tysons Corner Center

Traveling Players Ensemble performs Euripides' ancient revenge tragedy Hecuba, followed by a discussion led by American University Professor Barbara Wien, on Saturday March 12 at the Traveling Players Studio in Tysons Corner Center.

Hecuba shows the emotional toil of war, investigating the cycles of violence that play out between people, generations, and nations - and especially the effects on women and children. By harkening back to when the mythical Greek gods punish mortals, we invoke the themes our modern world is currently grappling with: war, fear, unknown fates.

To help audiences grapple with these difficult and emotionally fraught themes, Professor Wien will lead a post-show discussion for Traveling Players. She has previously joined the company for Women of Troy (2018) and Merchant of Venice (2019).

Professor Wien has worked to end human rights abuses, violence and war. She is a practitioner-scholar with extensive knowledge of sustainable peace agreements and best practices in ending gender-based violence. Her many credits include working for the US Institute for Peace and leading V-Day, the organization founded by Tony Award-winning actor and playwright Eve Ensler to end violence against women. She moderates the Middle East Peace Cafes offered by Busboys and Poets.

Synopsis of Hecuba: The play begins just after the Trojan War has ended. The Greeks will set sail with the women of Troy as their prisoners and slaves; including Queen Hecuba, who has lost almost all of her children to the war. In the play, Hecuba endures the deaths of her two youngest children, at which point it becomes a cathartic revenge tragedy -- Hecuba and the Trojan women blind the man who killed her youngest son and then kill his two sons.

The play is part of a larger festival of Greek Plays, which runs weekends March 12-20 at the Traveling Players Studio in Tysons Corner Center. The festival begins each day at 11:00 am with Ariadne's Thread (runtime 35 minutes, recommended ages 6+), followed by The Odyssey at 3:00 pm (runtime 45 minutes, recommended ages 8+) and concluding with Hecuba at 7:30 pm (runtime 75 minutes, ages 12+). Tickets are $15 for one play or $35 for the whole Festival.

Presented by Traveling Players Ensemble's middle and high school student actors, the play features the talents of Greta Brown (Arlington), Silas Frickert (Arlington), Sean House (McLean), Sara Kaufman (Falls Church), Liam Kenny (Bethesda), Kaitlyn McCarley (Oakton), Lexi Miller (Arlington), Penny Mollen (Falls Church), Michaela Pearce (McLean), Hugo Ratheau (Falls Church City), Cary Tran-Trong (Arlington), Zia Wallach (Reston), and Remy Wholander (Vienna). Scenic design by Jeffery Hales, costume design by Wallace Crehan, and properties design by Morgan Shotwell.

Jeanne Harrison, Traveling Players' Founder and Artistic Director, directs Hecuba. She received the Strass Award in 2016 for her integration of physical and classical theatre. Previously a dancer-choreographer, she has led workshops on directing a Greek chorus for the American Alliance for Theater & Education as well as universities.

DC's veteran fight choreographer Casey Kaleba staged the fights in The Odyssey and Hecuba. Kaleba has worked with Traveling Players since 2006 and has served as fight director for more than 200 academic and professional productions, including the Folger Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center.