Overview

Each Spring, the Center for Creative Work (CCW) produces and performs an original translation of Greek tragedy or comedy during the traditional festival time for the Athenian City Dionysia. Directors, choreographers, costumers, musicians, and actors from the Honors College and the Houston community combine to create a performance steeped in research and creative development. The future of the Dionysia lies in its ability not only to bring together the UH community, but also to reach out to the city of Houston through performances and conferences.

Dionysia 2011

Aeschylus' Agamemnon was the play for the 2011 Dionysia events. Center for Creative Work students and actors from the community produced the new translation (by Dr. John Harvey) of this bloody, intense play. Dionysia 2011 also expanded into the community with Klytamnestra: The Original Subversive Female a world premiere opera dance theater based on the Dr. Harvey's characters and translation, at Divergence Vocal Theater and Brandy Holmes' Yes, Cassandra at the Interstate Fringe Festival in New Orleans. More about Dionysia 2011

Dionysia 2010

The CCW expanded the Dionysia in 2010 to include a scholars' conference, a talk-back with the cast and directors, an Ekphrastic Art exhibit, and a closing reception in addition to the pre-show Agora and original production of Dionysia 2009. Drs. Armstrong and Harvey created a new translation of Sophocles' Electra, which the CCW staged using a mix of student and professional actors. Katelyn Halpern choreographed the show and Elliot Cole composed original music.

• Download the Dionysia 2010 poster
• View the schedule for "Electra: A Theatre Scholars' Conference on Translation and Production"
• Watch the video-diary of Electra    
• Hear a profcast on Electra   

Dionysia & SURF 2009

The Office of Undergraduate Research funded a 2009 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) for Katelyn Halpern to research the English translations of the three Electra plays: Sophocles' Electra, Euripides' Electra, and Aeschylus' The Libation Bearers. The research poster was presented at Undergraduate Research Day on October 1, 2009, at 4 p.m., in the Rockwell Pavilion. 

Dionysia 2009

The CCW inaugurated the Dionysia in 2009 with the production of Euripides’ The Children of Herakles. This little-known play, performed in a new translation by Dr. John Harvey with Dr. Richard Armstrong, explores the role of the City as a protector of the weak. The CCW's production featured original contemporary choreography by Katelyn Halpern, a new musical score by Richard Power, and a pre-show Agora that brought together performers and audience members in a marketplace of art, literature, and philosophy.

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