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The Jurymen

Now available online! Follow link to read it in the first issue of the electronic eJournal, Apollon. It's the featured article, and the first published.

CLICK HERE to read it!

My first review: The Jurymen

The first full review of my first play, The Jurymen.

'“The Jurymen” is complex and intricate. This play has many of the traditional components of a Greek play, like the Chorus, for example.While many may consider the standard Chorus song to be long and excessive, the songs in “The Jurymen” are necessary, and serve as an opportunity for more popular culture to be incorporated as well as an extension of the storyline. Moreover, I commend the writer for his or her ability to smoothly and comically transition into these songs.

Throughout the play one is reminded of these intentions, particularly that of education. The writer manages to both eloquently and deliberately incorporate elements of Classical mythology, philosophy, politics and history all while discussing the trial of Socrates. For example, on page thirteen the character Aristophanes suggests that a Greek chorus is needed to which Aristodemus replies, “…A chorus would help give the needed melody, which would work hand in hand with verse composition.” This serves as a contribution to the development of the chorus as a character as well as an introduction to audience members who may not be familiar with the significant role the chorus plays in a Greek comedy.

Furthermore, “The Jurymen” is able to remain loyal but also original, in regards to the classic style of comedy, largely because Greek comedies are topical. That is, the jokes are often specifically intended for ancient Athenians. Without knowledge of the social issues surrounding ancient Athens, many jokes are overlooked. “The Jurymen” discusses relevant twenty-first century social issues such as the Al Gore recount and the Texas Board of Education. This is perhaps the most insightful and surprising aspect of “The Jurymen”. A mark of thoughtful writing is found not by the mere inclusion of comedic definitions and characters named after philosophers, rather this mark is found in the writer’s ability to grasp the work of an era.

After being awed by the writer’s ability to successfully understand the larger workings of Greek comedy, the writer then pays an impressive amount of attention to detail. The writer anticipates all potential problems in terms of staging such as stage directions, audience inclusion as well as many reoccurring jokes. For example, the Chorus is from Idaho, which the characters eventually understand to be Ephesus. The mention of Ephesus is made through the play on multiple occasions. The writer even allows for extra time to be given to the audience as they cast their “vote” and decide Socrates’ fate.

It is this combination of large understanding and attention to specific details that deems this play publishable. Moreover, the writer shows a mastery of style in his or her efforts to create a successful portrait of Athens as an “ongoing dialogue”. This dialogue may mirror the philosophy that is so prevalent throughout the course of the play.

When examining the dialogue between the characters, it is obvious that the writer is familiar with classical philosophy and the commonly held beliefs associated with philosophers such as Socrates and Plato. For example, on page 20 the writer allows Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to be introduced. In fact, the writer goes so far as to define the “Allegory” for audience members who may not know. Again, the primary goal of education is achieved.

Despite the amount of praise I may give the writer as a Classicist, “The Jurymen” successfully mocks many of the stereotypical aspects that are often associated with philosophers. This is incredibly evident in the first scene with the persistent mentioning of drinking (mentioned in some 10 pages!), which brings to mind Monty Python’s “Philosopher’s Drinking Song.” Also, the way Socrates’ character talks in circles and has moments of absent-mindedness adds an additional element of depth to Socrates as a character. This separates him from the man in history books.

There are many struggles that one may encounter when developing fictionalized yet historical characters. The viewer has many expectations when concerning philosophers such as Socrates. What distinguishes a historical and comic character from a biased character? To avoid such problems the writer must include significant historical details such as hemlock, which is often associated with Socrates, as well as Apollo’s “accidental” mention of Roman rule.

“The Jurymen” is a well researched comedy that has an overwhelming amount of detail. The “Commentary” on page sixty-one provides an enormous sum of information about Aristophanes, Socrates, and many of the other educational elements of “The Jurymen”. If it is not apparent by the writer’s grasp of Greek comedy that the writer is well-versed in the culture and politics of ancient Athens, it becomes abundantly clear by examining the “Commentary” as well as the works cited by the writer.

I am left with little doubt that “The Jurymen” should be accepted and published. I am convinced that “The Jurymen” is successful in its attempts to first and foremost educate. Also, I feel confident that this play could be performed, and not to mention be well received, at most colleges and universities. It is with this simple fact that allows “The Jurymen” to be an undeniable triumph.'

I'm being published!

As I have recently announced, a play that I wrote earlier this year is going to be published. For those of you who haven't been in direct contact with me to hear the whole story as it's developed, here's the basic plotline of how all of this came to be:

1. The story begins in my sophomore year, when I took Dr. Schwartz's Classical Philosophy course. I always suspected I loved Plato, but I didn't really know it until then. As Dr. Schwartz was skillfully explaining the cave allegory, he off handedly said: "It would be neat if we could perform this in the Dell (our college's outdoor Greek theater)". Being bright eyed and bushy tailed, I wrote this down immediately, and started playing with the idea of staging such an event in the future.

2. Senior year roles around and I need a senior project. I start out by looking into the archaeology of Greek theater spaces, but soon lose interest and voice to Dr. Cohen my now 2-year-old idea to turn Plato's philosophy into something that could be shown in the Dell. She bravely agrees to let me attempt a creative project for my senior project.

3. As the year progresses, my project begins to take form and becomes a full-formed play based on the trial and execution of Socrates modelled after the Old Comedy of Aristophanes that expresses the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, discussing mostly philosophy of drama and justice. I write a 50 page play complete with a 20 page commentary citing everything imaginable, from verses of Plato to explanations of Athenian democracy.

At this point, all I really hope for is that my professors will be satisfied that I made a creative project academically relavent and let me graduate with my BA in Classics.

4. Everything after that snowballed, in an incredible way. Dr. Cohen and Dr. Stevens (my Classics professors) were in fact so pleased with my project that they not only granted me an A but also submitted for consideration for the college's Best Senior Paper award.

5. In the meantime, I also have the delight of seeing part of the play performed for the future cast of Dr. Cohen's Hecuba. My wonderful actors were several of my wonderful and incredibly supportive friends: Dr. Cohen, Sam Henderson, Megan Barrett, Alex Barrett, Rhiannon Knol, Eric Struble, Lindsay Wood, and Lorenzo Alvarez. Thanks again, guys. :)

6. My project won the Best Senior Paper award for my college, and one of the options I was offered as a result of this was to submit it to Apollon, a new academic journal that would consider my project for publication. I agreed to try for it.

7. In mid June, I got the following email from the Apollon office:

"Based on our initial reading of your play, The Jurymen, we believe that your paper has the potential to be considered for publication. We are interested in publishing material that are distinct both in content and style. However, your paper does not fulfill our submission requirements, as we seek to publish research papers that are within 2000-6000 words. Having said that, I would stress here that we are willing to make an exception and ignore the word limit for your paper as it seems unique and polished."

I do a few edits and sent the play off again, with the expectation of hearing back in August.

8. Tuesday I sent an email asking about the progress of my play. I got the following in response:

"The editors were highly impressed by many things in your work and have come to the conclusion that “The Jurymen” is a highly creative and an exceptionally well written play that strives to educate and entertain both Classicists as well as the average reader. Although we had initial reservations about your work due to its length being much longer than our usual submissions, we are glad we have had the chance to receive your work..."

9. After a few "minor changes", I'll send it back, and they'll publish it! :) It's a small and new academic journal, so it's not incredibly visible, but it's still a big step for me. This whole experience has already been far more rewarding than I was expecting; all I wanted to do was pass senior sem! xD

Thank you so much to everyone who encouraged and supported me while this was coming together. I couldn't have pulled it all off on my own.

I received a review from Apollon, as well, which I will post here in a few moments.

A Paradise in Prague

Street musicians on Charles Bridge

I've been avoiding writing an entry on my time in Prague because, while I went there to study creative writing, I have a hard time finding the words to describe the experience. In fact, a part of me feels that explaining it at all would only cheapen the experience, but I guess that's a risk I'm going to have to take.

The words I've come up with, so far, to describe my two weeks in the Czech Republic are: underwhelming, overwhelming, welcoming, alienating, inspiring, unifying, terrifying, exhausting, sweltering, fascinating, exhilarating, titillating, and last of all, heartbreaking. And that's all I might say about my many reactions to Prague. Onto the facts of what I did.

On the right: my photography instructor, Jan Pohribny. On the left: Jindrich Streit

First of all, I learned *so much* in my playwriting and photography workshops. I met so many amazing people and got very close to some in the short two weeks I spent there. The feeling of being surrounded by artists who all share that need to create was incredible, and being taught by such brilliant artists was even better. On top of that, Prague is bursting with creative energy and inspiration: a celebrated freedom after the Velvet Revolution and downfall of communism in CZ. During a photography field trip, I had the honor of meeting Jindrich Streit, a celebrated Czech photographer who resisted the communist regime and ban on art and who was arrested and spent time in jail for having a contemporary art gallery in his home (which I was lucky enough to visit). Through my photography class I was able to visit the studios of many renowned Czech photographers, and met many wonderful people that way. It was these visits and that field trip that helped me really find myself in the Czech Republic, and begin to love the experience of being there.

Three playwrights and a poet: Avi, Laura (my roommate, luckily for me), myself, and Aleks

As for my playwriting workshop, I was blown away by the amount of talent present with me three days out of the week. Actually, the amount of talent in the whole program was shocking. We had student readings in a small theater on Friday evenings and the first reading--featuring the illustrious playwrights along with fiction and poetry writers--was incredible. I met so many inspiring writers, in and out of my own workshop. Our class formed a nice group and we went out on adventures, such as seeing Henry IV in Czech at the foot of Prague Castle. Talk about an experience.

The stage for the Czech Circus

Speaking of theater, Czech theater is... wow. It was one of the many things I fell in love with there. Laura and I had the extreme pleasure of going to one of the showings of the Czech Circus our first week in Prague and it was an experience that I know I can't find the words to describe. The basic idea is that it follows the life of two clowns, but just saying that doesn't do the whole thing justice. The first half you're amused and entranced, delighted by the scenes before you. By the second act, you're shown images of beauty and love and hurt so fresh that you forget everything else entirely. Perhaps the effect was stronger since we weren't expecting it; we were just looking for a lighthearted time, but by the end found our hearts breaking. In a way, that experience alone pretty much sums up Prague for me.

But we (Laura, Erinn, Aleks, and I) also got to see a Black Light Show. That was a rose of a different color. It was entertaining and fun, but nothing like the intensity of the circus.

The Astronomical Clock

I saw many sights around Prague, including the Astronomical Clock, Jubilee Synagogue, Dancing House, and Cathedral + Castle. They were all nice, but the tourist area of Prague unnerved me in a way. It was beautiful, yes, but almost too much so. At night it felt genuine, but in the day, it felt like a street in Disney World. It seemed difficult to believe that anyone actually *lived* there; it seemed to be filled with tourists and visitors.

Me with two of my favorites--Erinn and Aleks--at the World Cup Spain vs Germany game in downtown Prague

One of the other fun experiences I got to partake in was World Cup gushing with the Europeans. It was amazing to be in Europe during the World Cup, seeing as Europe actually cares. Like, really, REALLY cares, as they should. Prague was projecting each game in the Old Town square for whoever wanted to come watch, and hundreds showed up. We couldn't pass up this opportunity, and enjoyed a very rambunctious and very exciting front-row view of football enthusiasm. The first half of the game we were mostly on the German side, trying to blend in. By the second half, we'd all switched over the the Spanish side, which turned out to be the right place to be. Viva Espana!

Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora, CZ

I got one day of adventurous exploration on my own. There was one place I needed to go outside of Prague: Kutna Hora, home of the Sedlec Ossuary, aka, the Bone Church. Sadly for me, there was a tour arranged to go here while I was on my photography trip so all the people I'd want to travel with had already been. But it was fun/terrifying to figure out the Czech train system and get there all by my lonesome. I walked around a bit too much of Kutna Hora (getting lost was involved) and got to walk through the beautiful pastel Cathedral.


And then the Ossuary. For those unfamiliar with the place, it's basically a church that's decorated completely in, you guessed it, human bones. Most of the bones are from victims of war and plague in the area, and are hundreds of years old. For some reason a nearby monastery had a large storage of these bones just lying around, and then one day one monk took a look at them and thought "I could make me a pyramid out of that," and so he did. And this is reason #27465 why one should never trust a monk.

Kutna Hora Cathedral

And that's pretty much the gist of it. Sure, there's much more that could be said, but I'm not a good enough writer to do it all justice, so this'll have to do. It was a life-changing experience, and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral at night. Goodnight, folks.

Attention Recent Grads!

We've been in school our whole life. What do we do now that we're not longer in that environment? How will we make friends? How do people actually meet other people when they don't have classes to break the ice? Here's a must read article by the wise and wonderful Rebecca if you, like me, are a recent grad nervous about making friends outside the world of academia.

Click to read the article A Relatively Painless Guide to Making New Friends, and make sure to follow her other insightful articles at Musings on Life After College.